Desperation did not take long to emerge. After the entry into force of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the return of the live hostages, politics in Israel returned to the exceptional normality that had before October 7, 2023. Despite two years, time seemed to have not passed. The prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued, and continues, in his efforts to stay in power. For this reason, it has revived its now classic strategy of instrumentalize justiceand his coalition partners have allowed him to pass certain laws that would facilitate another victory in next fall’s elections. In turn, Bibi seems to have understood the message that his far-right allies sent him with the preliminary approval of the Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank: his support is not free.
When the news broke, the vice president of the United States, J.D. Vancewas still in the country after joining the cast of senior US officials who visited Israel last week. Despite the opposition of Netanyahu and his party Likudthe Knessetthe Israeli Parliament, had approved a bill that recognized the Israeli sovereignty of the occupied West Bank. This gesture highlighted the prime minister’s loss of control over his fractious right-wing coalition. Bibi is at a key moment in the legislature. There’s barely any left one year until the next electionsif they don’t come forward. Furthermore, with the supposed end of the war in Gaza, the research about what went wrong on that tragic October 7, 2023 so that Hamas managed to kill 1,139 Israelis in just a few hours.
Since then, Netanyahu walk a tightropeand, when he deviates, his allies are responsible for reminding him. His far-right partners Jewish Power and Religious Zionism not only supported legislation to annex the occupied Palestinian territories last week for ideological reasons, but also to pressure the israeli leader for the ceasefire in Gaza, which they oppose. The Minister of National Security, the settler Itamar Ben Truehas threatened to leave the coalition unless Netanyahu recommits to dismantling Hamas. Furthermore, these parties are already preparing for the elections next October, and, with these votes, they send a message to his electorate that they remain loyal to their ideological commitments.
Message to Washington
Also the ultraortodoxos are dissatisfied with Netanyahusince it has not approved a bill for the exemption from compulsory military service for young people studying in yeshivas. From the opposition, which Netanyahu blamed for the approval of these laws, without mentioning his ultra coalition partners, they wanted to send a message to Washington. “Netanyahu has lost control of the Knesset and has lost control of the Government,” he acknowledged this weekend Yair Lapidleader of the opposition at the head of the centrist Yesh Atidon Channel 12. “I didn’t embarrass the Americans, I embarrassed Binyamin Netanyahu; he has no control, and therefore we have to go to elections“, he added. Since the far-right Noam left the coalition in the summer, the prime minister does not have a majority in the Knesset, with only 60 of the 120 seats.
“Netanyahu has to decide what you want to do: You can call early elections and hope that the agreement [paz propuesto por el presidente estadounidense, Donald] Trump remains,” says the doctor Gayil Talshirpolitical scientist and expert on Israeli trends and public opinion from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “But to achieve this, Netanyahu needs the public supportand will not win favor with the majority of society, who believe that he is part of the reason why the Hamas attack occurred on October 7 and that he has not taken responsibility,” he tells this newspaper. For the moment, the prime minister is trying to avoid any form of accountability for the deadliest day in Israel’s history.
Blocking Bennett
Bibi remains determined to try to do whatever it takes to stay in power. This Sunday night the Ministerial Legislation Committee approved a bill that seeks prevent former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett from running to the next elections. The latest polls place him on the heels of Netanyahu and, unlike the current prime minister, he could even form a coalition to govern. However, the committee postponed other controversial legislation that would allow MPs stop ongoing criminal trial against the Likud leader. “The harder the poison machine works against me, the more a sign they understand that change is coming,” Bennet wrote on social media.
“Instead of coming against me in some free electionsthe Likud party is trying to prevent me from running: if they thought they would win, they would not need to resort to personal and retroactive laws,” he added. Before Sunday’s vote, Israel’s attorney general dismissed the proposal as “unconstitutional“In view of the profound and fundamental violation of the principles of a democratic regime, as well as the direct impact of the bill on the personal interests of the prime minister, the proposal is unconstitutional, should be rejected and should not be advanced,” he said in a document. In response, Ben Gvir has accused the attorney general’s office of politicize the justice system. Regarding the law on the trials of prime ministers, the attorney general has denounced that the legislative project aims to allow the head of the Executive evade the judicial system.
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