The war between Israel and Hamas brings much suffering. But it seems to benefit one man: Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Hundreds of people rush towards the villa, blinded by the floodlights and flashlights of the police. An old man stumbles and falls into the sand. He continues to shout: “Free Israel from Netanyahu!” A fellow demonstrator helps him up. But the police do not let the men go any further. They will not reach the Prime Minister’s house that evening – but they will probably reach his ears.
Almost everyone here has brought a horn or a drum. The noise is deafening and drowns out the sound of the sea behind them. People look up in shock as there is a hissing sound in the sky. A demonstrator has lit flares. The light falls red and smoking. They are signal fires that are actually lit over sinking ships in the hope of getting help, and perhaps that is even appropriate for the situation in Israel almost nine months after the Hamas attack.
If you want to understand the heated atmosphere, the society that is becoming increasingly divided, you have to look at the person at the top: Benjamin Netanyahu. And perhaps there is no better place and no better time to do so than this evening in front of his villa in the city of Caesarea. There, between ancient port facilities and golf courses, Netanyahu’s worst critics regularly gather.