America must stop Binyamin Netanyahu from annexing Palestinian land

MAKE IT OFFICIAL: henceforth, the Hebrew word for magician is . This is not just because Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, appears to have won a record fifth term in office on April 9th. It is also because he pulled off the trick with corruption charges hanging over him, and in the face of a tough challenge from a new party packed with generals. Bibi, as he is known, made some parties vanish by taking their supporters, and conjured more seats for his own Likud party. He may soon surpass David Ben-Gurion, the country’s founding father, as Israel’s longest-serving leader (see ).His victory has come at a cost. His potion—mixing muscular nationalism with Jewish chauvinism and anti-elitism—has helped poison Israel’s politics. He claims he is innocent, blaming the charges against him on shadowy plots and sowing distrust of institutions: the police, the judiciary and the media. Mr Netanyahu may do yet more lasting damage. In the final days of the campaign he vowed to annex parts of the West Bank beyond Jerusalem, something no previous leader has thought prudent. This risks killing any chance of peace based on a two-state solution—which involves the creation of a Palestinian state—and of thus turning Israel into a rogue nation.