Contra mundum

FIVE days after Binyamin Netanyahu’s government was sworn in, his defence ministry on May 19th issued a directive that had the effect of requiring Israelis and Palestinians to use separate buses when travelling from Israel to the West Bank. The ministry called it an administrative and security requirement; but its own security experts said there was no need for it. In fact, the directive is a result of pressure exerted on Moshe Yaalon, the defence minister, by Israeli settlers who say they are being “harassed” by Palestinians on the buses.

The bus plan was roundly criticised by opposition figures and even by some within the ruling party, Likud. Yitzhak Herzog, the leader of the main opposition Labour party, called it “a stain on the face of the nation and its citizens”. A few hours later the prime minister capitulated and told Mr Yaalon to suspend the directive. In any event, the whole affair was a sign of the new government’s thinking, which could soon make Israel’s relations with the wider world pricklier than ever.

On May 15th Barack Obama admitted in an interview that his administration had failed in its attempts to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict. “We worked very hard,” he said. “But, frankly, the politics inside of Israel and the politics among the Palestinians as well made it very difficult.” Yet despite Mr Obama’s apparent acceptance of defeat, he is quietly talking to European governments about their plans to squeeze Israel harder. François Hollande, France’s president, wants a UN Security Council resolution to set a clear timetable for negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Mr Obama has asked France not to pursue its initiative until a deal is signed with Iran curbing its nuclear programme, which he hopes will be by the end of June. But he is not insisting that it be abandoned.

The American administration lacks the stomach for more than one diplomatic crisis with Israel at a time. An accord with Iran will be followed by a showdown in Congress, where Israel’s many supporters will try to scupper the deal. In the meantime, the French are gathering support from Arab and European governments. The resolution is expected to call, among other things, for Jerusalem to serve as the capital of both Israel and Palestine. On May 17th Mr Netanyahu ruled that out. At an event marking the anniversary of the six-day war of 1967 and Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, he said that “Jerusalem has forever been the capital of only the Jewish people and no other nation.” Though America in the past has routinely vetoed such resolutions, there are fears in Israel that Mr Obama this time may be preparing to abstain.

Israeli diplomats’ lament their country’s diminished international standing. “They used to talk to us, now they’re talking about us with others”, is a typical complaint. Whereas France has discussed its UN proposal with the Americans, the Arab League and the Palestinians, Israel learnt of it only at second-hand.

Alongside the French plan, the EU is holding another threat over Mr Netanyahu’s head. A feeling in Europe is growing that future Israeli announcements of further Jewish settlement-building on the West Bank should be met with retaliatory measures. For a start, the EU may insist on labelling Israeli products made in the settlements. Next, it may put limits on European finance for joint research. The EU high representative for foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini, was in Jerusalem as The Economist went to press, hoping to persuade Mr Netanyahu to clarify his plans. He told her that “I support the vision of two states for two peoples,” a question on which he has been Delphic of late; but that is far from a commitment to anything.

The Palestinians have been piling on the pressure, too. On April 1st Palestine officially joined the International Criminal Court (ICC), opening the way to the possible indictment of some Israelis for war crimes. And Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinian Football Association, is calling for a vote to suspend Israel from international football tournaments, including the World Cup, over claims of harassment and violence suffered by Palestinian footballers and their clubs. Neither step is likely make much practical difference in the near future. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, football’s governing body, was in the region this week. He was hoping to persuade the Palestinians to withdraw the vote and was keen on an Israel-Palestinian “peace match”. At the ICC the wheels of justice grind slowly. But Israel feels as if it is under intensifying diplomatic siege.

Some outsiders hope that a bit of pressure will spur Mr Netanyahu to adjust his right-wing coalition, bringing Labour into the government with Mr Herzog as foreign minister. But from the tone of his government’s first week, Mr Netanyahu is currently facing in the opposite direction.