UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk has called on a future government in Israel to change course in its approach to international law following the parliamentary election. On Wednesday, he said in New York that the message to the future leadership is not to continue the current war course, in which, he said, there is a belief that the country stands above international law. In his assessment, exactly this is already being observed. He expressed hope that a new government would fundamentally change its course and stressed that Israel must meet its obligations under international law.
The warning comes in the wake of a large-scale Israeli military operation in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The trigger was an incident on Friday in which two Palestinians near Hebron shot dead two Israeli soldiers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then ordered the operation in the West Bank. According to reports, thousands of Palestinians were subsequently driven from their homes, including many young children. Earlier this week, Türk had already warned of "ethnic cleansing" by Israeli security forces and described so-called collective punishment as a serious violation of international law.
Politically, the situation remains open after the election. With 85 percent of the votes counted, no majority for either of the two major blocs had emerged by Wednesday evening. Netanyahu's right-wing bloc had 53 of the 120 seats, while the opposition alliance led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot had 48. Arab parties, which together had 19 seats as of Wednesday evening, could prove decisive. The final result was expected by Friday morning.
Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have announced that they want to form a new government. Deutschlandfunk describes the government formation as difficult and presents four possible scenarios for how the political situation could develop. Signals also came from Germany on foreign policy: foreign policy spokespeople from the CDU/CSU expressed hope after the election for a future government without the participation of far-right parties.
In the coming weeks, it will be decisive whether the new leadership in Jerusalem takes up the demands from the United Nations. Türk's warning is thus directed not only at the political leadership of the country but at all actors responsible for the conduct in the West Bank. The reports leave open how the situation in Hebron will develop.