“No doubt, he has to go”
Even his own party is turning against Netanyahu
October 19, 2023, 12:52 p.m
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As long as the war against Hamas continues, there should be no revolt against the prime minister in Netanyahu’s own party. Nevertheless, the Likud says that Netanyahu is “finished.”
In Israel it is becoming increasingly clear that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political career is coming to an end. After one report According to the Israeli newspaper “Ha’aretz”, he hardly has any supporters in his own party, the national conservative Likud.
The central reason for the departure from the party leader: Netanyahu is blamed not only by political opponents, but also by the Likud base, for the fact that Israel was not prepared for an attack from the Gaza Strip. This scratches the core of Netanyahu’s image, who presented himself for years as “Mr. Economy”, but above all as “Mr. Security”..
“The Likud base knows that Netanyahu is finished,” a senior Likud representative told Ha’aretz. The atmosphere there is “like a volcano whose lava is heating up.” According to this source’s assessment, Netanyahu is accused of having pursued for years a “cowardly policy” that “sought to postpone the inevitable and refrained from operations such as the occupation of the Gaza Strip.”
It’s not just Netanyahu who will have to go
But there is also criticism of Netanyahu’s Gaza policy from other quarters. From the liberal side, the Prime Minister accusedto have relied on strengthening Hamas in order to weaken the Palestinian Authority. This strategy turned Hamas from a small terrorist group into an army whose stormtroopers invaded the country on October 7 to slaughter hundreds of Israeli civilians.
There are also accusations against Netanyahu because he has become dependent on right-wing radical parties, especially the nationalist Otzma Jehudit party under Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister for National Security. The senior Likud politician quoted by Ha’aretz said Netanyahu forced the Likud to form a far-right government “that caused a rift through the nation.” An unnamed Likud representative, who is a cabinet minister, made it clear to the newspaper that it is not just Netanyahu who will have to go: “Anyone who believes they can escape responsibility for the most terrible failure since the founding of the state , makes a big mistake.” The government’s fate was sealed on October 7th.
“After the war he has to go”
Just a week ago, Likud representatives would have Netanyahu defended and blamed the security policy failure on the military and secret services. Now it is difficult to find someone in the party who will protect the Likud leadership. At the same time, it is also clear that replacing the Prime Minister will wait until the current conflict with Hamas is over. “The war could last a year,” Ha’aretz quoted a cabinet member as saying, “and if that is the case, it will not be easy for Netanyahu to survive – although at the moment I don’t see a scenario in which he gets out of it “But when the fighting is over, there is no doubt that he must go.”
Netanyahu, who has already survived several corruption scandals, has not yet shown that he is aware of any responsibility for the Israeli state’s failure to guarantee the security of its citizens. It is precisely this point that has traumatized large parts of the population. “It was as if the state of Israel ceased to exist,” said an Israeli from Kibbutz Be’eri in an interview with ntv.de. Be’eri was devastated on October 7th, where at least 130 people were murdered by Hamas terrorists, and some residents were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip.
Instead of admitting his share of responsibility, Netanyahu has tried to distinguish himself with sharp rhetoric. In his first speech after the Hamas attack, he said that Israel would “crush and destroy” the terrorist organization – a promise that he will hardly be able to keep with such clarity. He only drove to the border area on the Gaza Strip, such as Kibbutz Be’eri, a week after October 7th. Shortly before, one had Survey by the newspaper “Ma’ariv” showed that approval for the Likud has collapsed. Only 29 percent of Israelis saw him as suitable for the office of prime minister.