The 2009 Israeli Elections and Turkish-Israeli Relations
By Ufuk Ulutaş
SETA Policy Brief, No. 31, February 2009
The 2009 election results in Israel indicate that right-wing votes have increased remarkably, and that the center-left and left have lost one third of their combined representational power. Based on the results, although a few other coalition alternatives are numerically possible, two options seem most probable today: a Likud-Kadima unity government or a right wing government. While the Likud-Kadima unity government would be the better option for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, both governments would seek to strike a deal with Syria and have to follow more or less the same procedures to deal with Iran. Since the recent course of Turkish-Israeli relations has been mainly defined by Israeli policies toward the Palestinians and the peace process, the next Israeli government’s peace agenda will be crucial for the future course of Turkish-Israeli relations.
