Israel’s New Government Is Hamstrung by a Byzantine Agreement between the Parties. But Maybe That’s Not a Bad Thing

The deal cementing the Jewish state’s recently formed governing coalition is intricate even by the standards of such documents, and includes a complex set of stipulations, most of which are unprecedented, meant to prevent both Benjamin Netanyahu (slotted to serve as prime minister for eighteen months) and Benny Gantz (who will serve for the subsequent eighteen months) from outmaneuvering the other. Echoing the opinion of several other analysts, David M. Weinberg complains that these terms force both Netanyahu and Gantz into “straitjackets that deliver punishing and painful electric shocks the split second either of them steps out of line.” But Weinberg believes this may be for the best: