Netanyahu overcomes political problems through confrontation with Israel's enemy
Netanyahu overcomes political problems through confrontation with Israel's enemy
Benjamin Netanyahu has again regained control of Israeli politics. The longest incumbent prime minister of the country has with an apparently extremely successful opening to a pulled out of the crisis against Iran.
Netanyahus return to power
"Bibi had his churchill moment," said an Israeli official from the coalition and used the prime nickname of the Prime Minister. One day before the start of what Israel operation called lion, Netanyah's government faced a vote of trust in the opposition. Two of the ultra -orthodox parties threatened to vote against the government, which had exerted great pressure on Netanyahu. But he survived the vote - with a considerable lead.
successful military offensive
24 hours later, Israel started attacking Iran. In one moment, Netanyah's political problems seemed eliminated. No more discussions about the military service of ultra-orthodox parties or loud demands from right-wing parties to pray in the al-Aqsa complex. "The cards are now in his hands. If they weren't in his hands a week ago, they are now," said the official.
The weekly political protests - initially against the judicial reform and then against the war in Gaza - which Netanyahu accompanied during his tenure, quickly, supported by instructions from the Israeli home front command, forbid the major meetings. Netanyahus statements in his corruption process have temporarily disappeared from the headlines. The stories of the hostages, which have been recorded in the Gaza Strip for over 600 days, are also no longer the main topic in the news.
political unity in times of crisis
Netanyahu is aware of the political consequences of such a successful military campaign, as a source from the nearby environment of the Prime Minister reports. However, this source emphasizes that this is currently not his focus. "If we do something good for Israel, it is good for us. It is good for you in the elections, it is good for you with the voters ... He will harvest this in the future," said the source.
Likewise, the source noticed the complete reversal of the political opposition from an attack on Netanyahu to his support. "This time we have a unit almost throughout the Knesset, apart from the Arabic parties, and we have a unit in the people," said the source.
Iran's role in Netanyahus career
Iran has been the focus of Netanyahus identity for almost his entire political career. His time as Israel's longest reigning guide is characterized by warnings about Iran. Some were almost cartoon like when he held up a drawing of a bomb in the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 to warn against the progressive nuclear program of Tehran. Since then he has repeatedly instructed the world from this and other stages about the intentions of the Ajatollahs.
versatile threats for Israel
The existential fear of Israel was not a single of the threats. It was the interaction of everyone: an overwhelming attack by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and the Shiite deputies in Syria and Iraq. This was the nightmare scenario that Hamas tried to provoke with her attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. It quickly became evident that each of these groups had their own interests.
Hezbollah started attacks on Israel on October 8, but was far from the massive bombing, which worried the military leadership. Iran performed two retaliation against Israel last year in April and October. The Houthis began to fire drones and ballistic rockets from Yemen on Israel, but never more than one or two at the same time.
success and challenges
Over 20 months of war, Israel was able to defuse each of his threats. Hamas is a shadow of himself, Hezbollah is unthinkable, and the Houthis does not have a serious threat. "Somehow you managed to disassemble the axis into manageable parts," the former US ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, told Cnn.
This made it possible to concentrate Israel to concentrate from another front to Iran without fear of massive retaliation. From Netanyah's political perspective, the risk was far less, especially since Israel's secret service Iran for years as his playground . "At his age, he has much less political career to lose," said Shapiro. "So it is easier to throw the caution overboard, especially to achieve a career -minded goal."
The uncertain political future
whether the military campaign against Iran Netanyahus improves the long term in the long term is not certain, says Yohanan Plesner, President of the Israel Democracy Institute. In the past few months, surveys have repeatedly shown that Netanyahu was far behind his political rival Naftali Bennett. It is crucial that it has been reported that he would remain significantly behind an alliance with his current political partners, which could suppress him from the tour.
Plesner expressed that the operation against Iran may not bring the political rescue that Netanyahu hopes for because it is a topic that is broad with broad approval from left and right. "There is an enormous consensus about the need that Israel does everything to prevent Iran from becoming nuclear," said Plesner to CNN. "It is not an issue that has been an ideological dispute."
Israel is also deep in the ongoing war in Gazastreifen , without clear exit options and with a lack of comprehensive plans for the time afterwards. A second war, even with more tangible successes, is another risk of Netanyahu if it drags on. "The government's ability to translate the military success into an advantageous diplomatic outcome still has to be determined," said Plesner.
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