Experts claim that the new government's actions are endangering Israel's relations with the Arab world

 Israeli journalists, former diplomats, and government ministers concurred on Thursday that the new coalition government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deteriorating relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, particularly those that have ratified the Abraham Accords or have expressed interest in doing so.

The panelists at a discussion sponsored by the Middle East Institute claimed that the far-right government's first three months were "chaotic" and that its policies are "racist" and "disconnected from reality."

The ruling coalition has presided over the violent repression of Palestinian protests since taking office in December. Israeli and settler raids targeting activists have increased across the occupied West Bank, killing nearly 100 Palestinians.

The attack on the Palestinian village of Huwara on February 27 was one of the most violent incidents; an Israeli panelist called it a "pogrom," a term used to describe a planned massacre of a particular ethnic group. One Palestinian was killed and more than 100 people were hurt during a violent late-night rampage by armed settlers who claimed to be retaliating for an Israeli attack on Palestinians the day before. The Israeli military, which has reacted quickly to rising tensions brought on by Palestinian assaults, took no action.

Barak Ravid, a seasoned Middle East and diplomatic correspondent for Israeli media outlets, said, "The fact is that this government, in its first three months, is dysfunctional and chaotic, and almost any step it takes does not come out of initiative but out of reaction to events."

Itamar Ben Gvir, the minister of national security, and Mr. (Bezalel) Smotrich, the minister of finance, are just a couple of the prominent figures who hold important positions that have a lot of influence over foreign policy and national security. This government is also the most far-right government in Israel's history.

"When Netanyahu entered, he said several things," Ravid continued. First of all, he declared that he would be in charge of foreign and national security policy. In my opinion, it has become clear to everyone in the three months since this government's formation that this is not the case. He is not in charge of anything; everything is in disarray.

And secondly, he presented a fairly ambitious foreign policy agenda, emphasizing first that he will concentrate on Iran and thwart its nuclear program. Additionally, he declared that he would work to expand the Abraham Accords and secure a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia. He hasn't taken any action over the past three months toward either of the two foreign policy objectives.

Ravid claimed that the unrelated problem of the government's proposed judicial system reforms, which have sparked widespread opposition in Israel and international concern, has contributed to the issues because it has "hijacked the government's agenda."

The panelists concurred that the violence in the West Bank has increased the number of Palestinian and Israeli fatalities and put a stop to any additional potential normalization agreements, similar to those outlined in the Abraham Accords with Morocco, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. This is especially true of any hopes for an agreement with Saudi Arabia.

Nachman Shai, a former Israeli minister of diaspora affairs, said that Netanyahu's coalition "knows very well that they are harming relations with the Arab World but they don't care."

"Don't tell me they don't know because they allowed Minister Ben Gvir to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque or because other coalition members and government ministers made statements. They are very aware that their actions are damaging their relationships with the Arab world, but they are not.

The "Huwara pogrom" was described by Shai as a "terrible event, a tragedy that disrupted our relationship with the United States, with the Jewish community, and with the rest of the world. particularly in light of our interactions with the Arab world.

He claimed that US President Joe Biden's administration, which has been a vocal supporter of Israeli security and democracy, has expressed anger over the new government's policies.

The majority of the coalition's actions, according to Elie Podeh, a professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, have undermined any likelihood of improved ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which was "Netanyahu's main target" for his foreign policy.

According to Podeh, "any tension, and an intifada and anything significant that happens between Israel and the Palestinians, especially if Jerusalem is involved, is going to hamper and is going to hurt any developments between the Israelis and the Saudis." "So, it is not on the horizon, at least not right now," said the speaker.

The turmoil during the first 100 days of Netanyahu's government, according to Maya Sion Tzidkiyahu, director of Mitvim, the Israel-Europe Relations Program at the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, has not only soured support for Israel among leaders of EU countries but also the normalized relations with the UAE. She claimed that the Netanyahu administration has not acknowledged the harm to its efforts to strengthen ties with the Arab World.

Nimrod Goren, a senior fellow of Israeli Affairs at the Middle East Institute, moderated the discussion.