image source, Reuters
- Author, WireDavis
- Role, BBC correspondent in the Middle East
“How many deaths and disasters will Israel endure under Netanyahu’s watch?” This was a major headline in an Israeli newspaper this week.
The article in Haaretz followed a report that held the Israeli Prime Minister and other senior figures in his administration personally responsible for an incident that led to the deaths of 45 people following a stampede at a Jewish religious festival in 2021.
The newspaper, which is often critical of the prime minister, noted that Netanyahu did not respond directly to the report, and instead,
His Likud party claimed that the committee that investigated the disaster was formed primarily for political motives.
Commentators from various political affiliations liken the Mount Meron disaster to the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, which led to the death of about 1,200 people and the taking of more than 250 hostages – especially with Netanyahu’s refusal to bear responsibility.
This comes at a time when opinion polls do not show good results in favor of the Prime Minister, and despite his adherence to “absolute victory” and that it is the only option to end the war, an opinion poll conducted by the Israeli Democracy Institute last month showed that the majority of Jews (51%) and Palestinians hold citizenship. The Israeli government (77.5%) said that there is a weak possibility of eliminating Hamas.
One Bar-Ilan University survey conducted in November indicated that less than 4% of Israelis trust Netanyahu’s decision on the war in Gaza.
While confidence in Netanyahu is low, most Israelis support the continuation of the war in Gaza.
Tamar Herman of the Israel Democracy Institute sees no contradiction in saying that “most Israelis support the war and are less supportive of a future Palestinian state, but they still do not trust Netanyahu.”
Herman said that Netanyahu led unpopular judicial reforms before the Hamas attack, and then “lost his security credentials after October 7.”
The lack of progress in releasing the remaining hostages is also a source of criticism.
Last weekend, thousands of hostage relatives and supporters ended a four-day march in front of Netanyahu’s official residence in Jerusalem.
“Our government must, above all, ensure that they return home,” said Yair Mozes, whose 79-year-old father, Gadi, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. “This is the only humanitarian thing that can happen.”
Netanyahu says the return of detainees is a priority, but his decision not to send a delegation to ceasefire talks in Cairo this week was met with ridicule in some Israeli media.
Netanyahu reiterated that Israeli forces will eventually launch an attack on the southern city of Rafah, where some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are located.
International pressure is increasing with the emergence of indications of the threat of famine, the killing of more than 30,000 people in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, and the destruction of a large portion of the land due to Israeli bombing.
Netanyahu said at a military graduation ceremony this week that the army “will continue to work against all Hamas brigades, and that the increasing international pressures only push us to unify our ranks.”
Netanyahu was said to be angry this week when Benny Gantz, his arch political rival and war council member, embarked on an unannounced and unauthorized trip to visit key allies in Washington, D.C., and London.
Gantz is a former army general and chief of staff, and leads the more centrist National Unity Party, where opinion polls indicate he would secure enough Knesset votes to form a coalition government and oust Netanyahu if elections were held today.
Some of what attracts others to Gantz is simply that he is not Benjamin Netanyahu. He is a centrist and pragmatist who supports Israel’s military goals. Gantz’s frankness, which was received by senior officials in the United States and Britain, was widely interpreted in Israel as contempt for Netanyahu.
Others criticized Gantz, describing him as “someone waiting for his turn.” Transportation Minister Miri Regev, an ally of Netanyahu, criticized Gantz’s visit, saying: “He is working behind the prime minister’s back and the visit appears to be with the intention of sabotage.”
Netanyahu is a seasoned political survivor, and his critics and supporters say he will do almost anything to stay in power and keep his government together, but his thin coalition relies on controversial far-right ministers and religious parties to stay afloat, and he is under pressure.
In exchange for their support, the groups insist on making financial concessions and exempting Orthodox Jews who learn the religion from military service, but with the killing of Israeli soldiers while on active duty in Gaza, this policy – the exemption – is under increasing pressure.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – who is also seen as a potential replacement for Netanyahu – is known to be striving to abolish this policy.
The former head of the Shin Bet internal security service, Nadav Argaman, said at a security conference held in Israel this week: “The Israeli citizen is one who serves the state as it defines it, that is, either military service or national service.”
Satisfying people is an unattainable goal, and Netanyahu cannot deviate from that and satisfy everyone. When the war ends, there will be an investigation into the events of October 7 to answer many questions.
Netanyahu will be subject to intense scrutiny regarding the warnings his government received and his subsequent reaction, and if the results conclude that he is held responsible, as observers believe, it may be difficult for him to deny, as he dealt with the Mount Meron report this week.
Wyre Davies – BBC Middle East correspondent
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