One is a pistol-packing ex-member of an outlawed Jewish militant group. The other is a religious fundamentalist who once called himself a "proud homophobe". Both are West Bank settlers averse to Palestinians’ self-rule – let alone their hopes of statehood. And as senior coalition partners to reelected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich will be within reach of the levers of power – a troubling prospect for Israel’s once-dominant secular-left and friends in the West.
About the Author
