thanks, had a feeling something was missing in the two of mine .. Murdoch's Australian inserts the "status quo" phrase in the heading yet a less insightful slant as to it's meaning ..
by: John Lyons, Middle East correspondent From: The Australian January 24, 2013 12:00AM
THE two-state solution has been given a late stay of execution. The extremist pro-settler Right did not triumph in yesterday's Israeli election, as the polls had suggested it would.
With 99.5 per cent of the vote counted, the right-bloc had 60 seats and the centre-left bloc 60.
In recent weeks, the idea of a Palestinian state alongside Israel has taken a pounding, led by the pro-settler party Jewish Home. Under Naftali Bennett, Jewish Home ran on a "Greater Israel" vision, saying it was "vehemently opposed" to a Palestinian state and in favour of annexing 60 per cent of the West Bank.
But another charismatic figure, a leather jacket-wearing television journalist, has spoilt the settlers' party. Yair Lapid, 49, a centre-left commentator who has frequently spoken out against Jewish settlements and in favour of a Palestinian state, became a major new force in Israeli politics yesterday, winning 19 seats, while Jewish Home won only 11 or 12.
Lapid did not run hard on peace issues. The only leader who did, the HaTnua party's Tzipi Livni, won only seven seats.
Lapid's focus was on pressures on the middle class: the high cost of living, particularly housing.
Lapid has followed in the footsteps of his father, Tommy, also a journalist who became a politician. Tommy Lapid was a Holocaust survivor who became justice minister and a strong supporter of peace efforts.
His son will come under significant international pressure, particularly from the US and Europe, to push for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Last year he formed his own party, Yesh Atid. His 19 seats more than offset the seats gained by Jewish Home.
Israeli commentator David Landau highlighted Lapid's new role. "Yair Lapid is now carrying the burden of the two-state solution," he told the BBC.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will try to pull together a coalition. But if Lapid takes his 19 seats to Labor's Shelly Yachimovich, who won 15, he may attempt to form his own coalition - changing the entire political landscape.
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