It may surprise many, but Palestinians are not overly worried about the new Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government, which includes far-right ministers. This is not because the new government is any less antagonistic to Palestinians, but simply because the new government is no different in real terms from its predecessors. For many, the new government is a much more honest reflection of Israeli policies than the Yair Lapid government, which refused to even sit and talk peace with the Palestinian leadership. Under the outgoing so-called centrist Lapid government, for example, Israel killed more than 200 Palestinians, including children. Save the Children reported that 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in more than 15 years. Last year, under the outgoing coalition government, which included an Arab party for the first time, Israel also demolished 950 Palestinian structures and displaced 1,022 Palestinians. Then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz even refused to investigate the overwhelming case against the Israeli army over the killing of American Palestinian TV journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The new government’s policy guidelines state that the “Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the land of Israel,” and that it will “advance and develop settlements in all parts of the land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev Desert, the Golan Heights and Judea and Samaria,” referring to the biblical name for the West Bank. This is probably the belief of the majority of the members of the Knesset, but many — including those in the last government — hid behind the false promise that they support the “two-state solution.” The same likely holds for the desire of many Israelis to get rid of Islam’s third-holiest mosque and build the so-called Third Temple in its place. The previous government hid behind the statement that it would preserve the status quo at Al-Aqsa while working to erode that claim. The new government’s ministers are not hiding what previous governments kept quiet. For example, the Cabinet official in charge of internal security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for a change to the centuries-old understanding of who owns and manages the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was built in 705 and has been managed by Muslims ever since (apart from a short period during the Crusader invasion of Jerusalem). Ben-Gvir and other Religious Zionist party politicians want to allow Jewish prayer at the site — a move that would risk inflaming tensions with the Palestinians and Muslims worldwide. Netanyahu himself had reached an understanding back in 2014 with King Abdullah of Jordan, the custodian of Jerusalem’s Christian and Muslim holy places, that reiterated his commitment to upholding the status quo at Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Of course, Netanyahu never fulfilled Israel’s obligations and allowed the status quo to slowly deteriorate. So, the basic difference is that the previous government tried to accomplish the same goals, but gradually, while this government has no shame about it. The Palestinian ambivalence toward a government that includes several publicly discredited racists does not mean that things will get better under the new Netanyahu administration. His government includes Ben-Gvir, who the Israeli army refused to enroll because of his extremism. Such ministers have publicly committed to continuing to carry out war crimes, including the violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which bans Jewish-only settlement-building in the Occupied Territories. The facade of Israel as an enlightened, democratic, secular and inclusive country has finally been shed. Daoud Kuttab Israel’s new government will make Israel even more of a theocracy than it was in the past. Its ascension should erase all talk by the US and other Western countries of shared values with Israel. Even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appears to have dropped the use of this term when talking about Israel. The new government has one key goal that Netanyahu will do his best to live up to. Facing multiple corruption charges, which would disqualify any minister according to current Israeli law but not prime ministers, Netanyahu wants to change the law to get out of having to go to jail if he is convicted. Now that the facade of Israel as an enlightened, democratic, secular and inclusive country has finally been shed, it seems appropriate that the world community, and Western countries in particular, say what they mean and mean what they say when it comes to the continued Israeli violations of international law. When the new government boasts about its calls to boost what amount to apartheid policies, which have been well documented by various Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights organizations, it is no longer appropriate to muzzle voices that call a spade a spade. The US has tremendous power to make sure that Israel begins the process of ending its decades-long occupation and its illegal settlement activities. America and other Western allies should not bar nonviolent protests or sanctions, including the activities of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. A rogue state that does not adhere to international law, whether that is Iran or Israel, should not get a free pass, no matter what its people suffered from in previous years and in a different setting. Some will use whataboutism to argue that Israel should not be singled out, and they are right. But Israel was given a free pass and extraordinary support for decades by claiming to be a democracy. Now that it is crystal clear it is not, it should not get special treatment anymore. The demand that must be made of all Israeli governments is, therefore, simple: End the occupation. Because Palestinians, like all human beings, have the right to be free and to be able to practice their inalienable rights, including the right to self-determination. This is what concerns Palestinians today, regardless of which government is in power in Israel. • Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist from Jerusalem. He is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. Twitter: @daoudkuttab