What to expect now?

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The rise of Israel's ultra right wing has ominous implications, and not just for the Palestinians. Israel's far right has no interest in a just peace.

This region has failed to edge any closer to peace in the last 15 years, when leftists and centrists mostly governed Israel. So buckle up now! Whether it is Livni or Netanyahu in the prime minister's office, it's the same thing. After all, Kadima is but an offshoot of the Likud. The only difference, perhaps, is that a Kadima-Labour coalition may at least pretend to be interested in peace.

The rise of Leiberman's Yisrael Beiteinu will undermine any chance for a just solution, for it gives the right wing a clear majority (65 out of 120) in the Knesset. To deal with this situation, Palestinian factions must end their divisions and end them now. The rift has taken the wind out of the Palestinian sails and the goal out of their pursuit. Only through a unified front can the Palestinians keep Israel's fascist right wing at bay.

The Palestinians need to work together to confront an Israeli political scene that's likely to be more intransigent than anytime before. Israel is not done bullying the Palestinians yet, whether in Gaza or the West Bank. And the Palestinians have to find a common voice to answer back.

When the Arab peace initiative came out in 2002, the Sharon government rejected it outright. It took Olmert's so-called moderate government to even recognise the existence of the initiative. And yet the best Olmert, Foreign Minister Livni and Defence Minister Barak could come up with was to mumble that there were some good points about the initiative.

Expect this. Expect Israel to demand normalisation with Arab countries without offering a quid pro quo. Expect Israel to demand official Arab recognition without giving the Palestinians their land and rights back. The only thing Israel wants from the Arabs and the Palestinians is to comply with Israel's terms.

Expect Israel to keep on rejecting the right of return of Palestinian refugees. Expect Israel to keep holding on to the Golan, to parts of the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Expect Israel to refuse dismantling the settlements. And expect Israel to deny the Palestinians an independent state.

Israel is a peril, and not just to the Palestinians. It is a peril to Arab national security as a whole. The far right wants to deport the Palestinians from their land in order to create "Greater Israel". It's a nightmare, and we can only deal with it if we stick together.