Commitments Intact

The now agreed-upon coalition government with Likud joined by Labour ensures, according to the coalition deal signed between Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak, that all of Israel's previously accepted international agreements would be respected. The formula for acceptance of a coalition to more fully represent all of Israel's voting public is inclusive of accords toward eventual statehood for Palestinians.

Both Likud and Labour have committed themselves to uniting for the good of the country. Ehud Barak assured his supporters that he has no intention of acting as a 'cover' enabling Likud to impose a unilaterally right-wing endorsement of hard-fisted Israeli politics, but rather the two plan to work together, along with Yisrael Beitenu's Avigdor Lieberman to present a reasonable alternative to previous governments' unworkable solutions toward peace.

What's truly interesting in this respect is that the coalition of Likud-Labour has pledged to 'enforce the law' regarding Jewish settlement outposts currently present in the West Bank that have established themselves without the official approval of the government. A number of settlement coups to which the previous centrist government had no response.

Kadima, in fact, found itself agreeable to the continued expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, despite its avowals, in respect of the Annapolis 2007 'road map' toward establishing two states living side by side. The continued expansion of the illegal settlements, in vivid violation of the road map gave Israel a public bruising, and the Palestinian Authority apoplexy.

Ehud Barak assures doubters, at home and abroad, that "We will be a counterweight that will ensure we do not have a narrow right-wing government." And while Benjamin Netanyahu has hesitated to declare support for the two-state solution, it is unavoidable. All the more so with the inclusion of Labour.

Likud has stated unequivocally that it is prepared to pursue "a regional agreement for peace and co-operation in the Middle East", and this is clearly a proposition that cannot be completed without dedicating itself to the acceptance of a Palestinian state living alongside Israel.

Needless to say the fundamental flaw in the ongoing debates continues to be that viciously-buzzing fly in the ointment of peace and goodwill between Jew and Arab, the Hamas leadership in Gaza. How that plays out in the future will truly tell what is possible and whether the two-state solution can be viable.

It's long past time for the on-again, off-again initiatives to come to a meaningful conclusion. The people of Israel and their Palestinian counterparts living in the West Bank and Gaza could use some good news and a final settlement of the ongoing aggravations and insecurities.

Finally, though, and for the moment, it is satisfyingly hopeful that the coalition accord reads: "Israel is committed to all the diplomatic and international agreements that Israeli governments have signed throughout the years."