Foreign Policy in the 1999 Israeli Elections Gerald M. Steinberg Director, Program on Conflict Resolution and Negotiation and BESA Center for Strategic Studies Bar Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel Tel: 972-3-5318043 Fax: 972-3-5357931 Email:
[email protected] “The Peace Process in the 1999 Israeli Elections”, Israel Affairs, 7:2, Winter 2000also in Israel at the Polls:1999, (London: Frank Cass, 2001) Daniel Elazar and Ben Mollov,editors.The published text may differ slightly from this version. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE 1999 ISRAELI ELECTIONS Gerald M. Steinberg In 1996, Binyamin Netanyahu was elected Prime Minister of Israel by the narrowest of margins, following a series of deadly terrorist attacks that had a profound impact on Israeli public opinion. The election results reflected a rejection of the Labor government’s policies, and of Shimon Peres, in particular, rather than an endorsement of Netanyahu and his policies. Although the new government’s first priority focused on combating terrorism, this could never be the only measure of success or failure, and in order to be reelected, Netanyahu would have to deliver on his promise to balance security and “peace.” A pragmatic policy demonstrating some progress in the negotiations with the Palestinians and perhaps also Syria, along with a strong stance in the face of terrorism and violence, would provide Netanyahu with the continued support of the floating voters. In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin led the Labor party to a narrow victory over Yitzhak Shamir and the Likud on a platform of “peace with strength,” and in 1996, those voters who had swung to Rabin four year earlier were disenchanted and voted for Netanyahu.