How will Arab states react to an Israeli coalition government populated by overt and semi-overt anti-Arab racists? This is a question for all governments to consider, Arab and non-Arab alike, but it will particularly tax those Arab states that have entered into diplomatic relationships with Israel. This includes those with historical peace deals and others who agreed to normalize relations through the Abraham Accords in 2020. As the World Cup in Qatar showed, the Palestinian issue is one that still matters across the Arab world and evokes strong feelings, something that the Abraham Accords acknowledge. The people of the region care passionately about this issue. Only those with their heads in the sand can fail to see the racist nature of the incoming Benjamin Netanyahu-led coalition government in Israel. Within its ranks will be ministers who have openly called for the expulsion of Arabs, incited violence against Arabs and venerated the mass murderers of Arabs. It will include as minister for national security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has been indicted on criminal charges. He recently wielded a gun in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem and urged Israeli police to open fire with live ammunition on Palestinians throwing stones. Emanating from the racist, Jewish-supremacist stance of these members of the coalition will be policies that should elicit international uproar if implemented. It will probably be only a murmur, but who knows? One always wonders how atrociously Israel has to behave to challenge the laissez-faire attitudes in the US and Europe. These Israeli policies include a move to transfer authority for the running of the West Bank from the Ministry of Defense to civilian ministries run, strangely enough, by settler ministers such as Ben-Gvir, but also his partner in crime, Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist party. Netanyahu has acquiesced to them in this handover of power and it is hard to see how he can restrain them, as he has done on past occasions. Ideologically, of course, he does not want to — he himself is a greater Israel fanatic — but for diplomatic reasons he has always held back for fear of upsetting Washington. If the West Bank comes under Israeli civilian control, it will effectively be annexation: The extension of Israeli law over the West Bank. The situation is already close to that. More than 700,000 settlers live in relative luxury under Israeli civilian laws and courts, while 3 million Palestinians languish under military rule and a kangaroo military court system that has a 99.74 percent conviction rate. Yes, that is an official Israeli figure. Remember also that Israel has already implemented two large formal annexations of occupied territory. It expanded the boundaries of Jerusalem and annexed the area, in contravention of international law and defiance of a UN Security Council resolution. It did the same with the Golan Heights. Annexation is one likely outcome of this coalition government. But it will also no doubt ratchet up tensions in East Jerusalem. In Sheikh Jarrah, where settlers are expanding their illegal presence, Ben-Gvir set up an office in a tent, right in the heart of the Palestinian area. This is symbolic of his contempt for Arabs — he does not recognize Palestinians as a people. The most serious issue will be further encroachments on Al-Aqsa, because smashing what is left of the status quo agreements on the holy places in Jerusalem is part of the policy agenda of the incoming government. Expect considerably more frequent Jewish prayers on Al-Haram Al-Sharif and also watch for the extremist groups that will feel empowered to push the envelope and fuel the tensions. You might get more talk of rebuilding the Jewish temple. Here again, this should worry many Arab and Muslim-majority states. Jerusalem matters, and an Israeli government determined to erase the interests of other religious communities in the city risks a massive conflagration and embarrassing those Arab leaders who reached out to Israel. But it does not stop there. Annexation of much of the West Bank and the Judaization of Jerusalem will be accompanied by a surge in settlement activity, most probably starting with the legalization of settlement outposts, which number 147. This will amount to a massive transfer of land to the “legalized” settlements, placing it beyond Palestinian use. They might not all be legalized at once but with this coalition, who knows? Massive settlement projects, such as E1, might be pushed forward despite being deadly to any hopes of a two-state solution. Settler violence, which is already worrying, will escalate to unprecedented levels. It ranges from the daily harassment of Palestinians to carrying out pogroms, as happened in Hebron in November and Huwara, near Nablus, in September and October. Settlers even entered and smashed up a school. Imagine, then, how settlers view the prospect of having one of their own, Ben-Gvir, a settler from Hebron, as national security minister. It will be open season in terms of their attacks not only on Palestinians but also on Israeli and international activists who try to help the Palestinian people. The settlers already enjoy extraordinary levels of impunity. According to the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, 90 percent of complaints lodged against settlers between 2005 and 2013 went nowhere. Palestinians rarely bother to report attacks since they know the army will do nothing about them. In fact, the army has facilitated these recent pogroms and worked hand-in-glove with the extremist settlers. The settlers will also be eyeing a demolition derby of Palestinian homes and other buildings. They already report any Palestinian structure built without a permit to a special hotline. Extremist groups such as Regavim try to have all Palestinian structures that were built without permits demolished. Why do the Palestinians simply not get the required permits, Israeli apologists cry. The truth is that Palestinians simply cannot obtain such permits in Area C of the West Bank, which Israel controls. A school was demolished last month; the UN says 44 other schools are under threat of demolition. Settlements expanded. Lands stolen. Schools demolished. More killings of Palestinians. The Judaization of Jerusalem. Violations of Al-Aqsa. One can only imagine that friends of Israel, including those in the Arab world, will be sorely discomfited by such scenes. Settlements expanded. Lands stolen. Schools demolished. One can only imagine that friends of Israel will be sorely discomfited by such scenes. Chris Doyle But will anything change? This is hard to tell. Netanyahu is responsible for the mainstreaming of these racist bigots in Israel. He appears to be the loser in the coalition talks, with the agenda being set for him rather than the former prime minister driving it himself. If he cannot, or will not, restrain the extremists, tough choices lie ahead. The international community must take a robust stance, which needs to include tangible consequences. Arab states should take the lead on this. Failure to act would be to turn a blind eye to the most egregious displays of anti-Arab racism. It would also endorse contempt for the rules-based international order; an order that much of Europe and the US has professed such determination to uphold in response to Russia’s campaign against Ukraine. Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, in London. Twitter: @Doylech