2023-12-30 00:43:07
Controversial and veteran Benjamin Netanyahu is a year into Israel’s prime minister since he allied with the ultra-Orthodox and ultra-nationalists to return to power, and while he dodged a historic anti-government protest movement, the war in Gaza could mark a checkmate in his career, according to several analysts.
After a contested election, Netanyahu won a strong right-wing coalition that won 64 of the 120 seats in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), and was sworn in as prime minister on December 29, 2022. “It was a victory which even he did not expect, made him lose touch with reality. He thought he would be immune, that he could do whatever he wanted,” Aviv Bushinsky, Netanyahu’s former adviser and former chief of staff between 1997 and 2005, told the Efe agency.
Facing a series of corruption lawsuits, Bibi, as he is known in Israel, began his term with judicial reform that compromised democracy and the independence of the judiciary, sparking a movement against massive government and polarization social in the country.
“His extreme reform was carried out in a belligerent manner and did not anticipate the volume of the demonstrations”, which only ceased when the war broke out, Bushinsky points out, explaining that the judicial initiative distracted the prime minister of key issues. Major campaign promises included defeating terrorism; weaken the nuclear efforts of Iran, Israel’s archenemy, boost the high-tech sector and extend diplomatic relations with the Arab world.
“Netanyahu, always strong when it comes to talking, is also the man who never delivers,” deplores an editorial in Yedioth Ahronoth, the most widely circulated Hebrew newspaper, which calls for the president’s resignation.
The worst attack in 75 years
Indeed, the promises remained in the dead letter: the Islamist group Hamas, considered terrorist by Israel, the United States and the European Union, perpetrated the worst attack in 75 years of Israel’s history; the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah intensified hostilities in the north; Iran tripled production of near-weapons-grade uranium, and many high-tech companies migrated abroad fearing negative implications of judicial reform.
In addition, when the war against Hamas in Gaza broke out, not only did the pact to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia disappear, but the ties that Israel already has with Arab countries and even with Turkey
Related news
The son of a historian, Netanyahu – who has been prime minister six times for 16 non-consecutive years – always wanted to leave his mark in the annals. But “not only did he fail to have his name written in golden letters in Israel’s history, but he could be remembered as the prime minister who committed one of the country’s most tragic failures,” remarks Bushinsky, referring- se to the attack by Hamas on October 7, which triggered the war and 1,200 dead and 240 hostages taken to the Strip.
For Michael Milstein, head of the Forum for Palestinian Studies, the war in Gaza will be “the last chapter of Netanyahu’s career.” The two analysts believe that, even if Israel achieves a decisive victory in the war, Netanyahu should resign, as former Prime Minister Golda Meir did in the face of social pressure after the Yom Kippur War half a century ago. According to a recent poll, 69% of Israelis want new elections immediately after the war in Gaza.
#war #Gaza #erodes #year #Netanyahu #Government