Menachem Deutsch is fairly optimistic in nature. A 40-year resident of Karnei Shomron, an Israeli settlement west of the Palestinian city of Nablus, he takes advantage of his retirement to care for the poorest of the Jewish settlers in the northern West Bank. Kippah knitted on the skull, smile on his lips, he is nonetheless concerned about the political impasse that Israel is going through. Twice, negotiations have failed to form a majority in parliament, the Knesset, and the Israelis will return to the polls in March 2020, the third time in less than a year. This time, Menachem Deutsch fears that the left will win.
On November 26, he and his partner, Miri, joined the demonstration of support for Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, organized in Tel Aviv by his party, the Likud, a few days after the decision of Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to put him in examination for corruption, fraud and breach of trust. The Yesha’s council, which represents 413,400 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, did not call on them to demonstrate. "We were there mainly to support the right, which is in danger", explains Menachem Deutsch.
He "has had his day"
When talking about the upcoming election, residents of Karnei Shomron, largely religious nationalists, often have already strong ideas. Many consider that, "Because he is the strongest", "Bibi" alone can ensure the maintenance of the right in power in Israel and therefore the continuation of settlement in the West Bank.
"He is an extraordinary prime minister, he has raised the country on the international scene", believes Solange Dentelsky, an inveterate Likudnik. Despite his problems with the law, we must support him: if Benny Gantz (who leads the Bleu Blanc centrist movement) wins, he will form a left government. It will be the end of Judea and Samaria. " This is how the settlers call the West Bank.
Some residents believe, on the contrary, that the Prime Minister "Has had its day" and that by wanting to stay in power at all costs, it weakens the right. This is the case of Sondra Oster Baras, at the head of a tourism agency for evangelical Christians: "Netanyahu wanted to keep everything to himself, She says. It's because of personal disputes, like with Avigdor Lieberman (leader of the nationalist and secular party Israel Beitenou), that we still don't have a government. He should have resigned before his indictment. "
