Netanyahu calls on Biden to show solidarity with Israel

Analysts believe the future of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be in jeopardy after an unprecedented attack by the Hamas movement on Israel, which shocked the country, Agence France-Presse reported.

Daniel Bensimon, an Israeli political expert and former Labor MP, said it was “the beginning of his downfall”.

Although he admits that this is not the first time that the end of Netanyahu’s long political career has been discussed, he firmly believes that “his mistake this time is very serious.”

He told the agency: “He has failed in his essential mission of ensuring the safety of his people.” “Because of him, the government and the army were missing on the border of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, October 7,” adding: “He will pay a heavy price.”

Hamas surprised Israel by launching “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”, its fighters infiltrated southern Israel by sea, land and air, firing thousands of rockets into Israel and killing more than 1,000 civilians. and took what was not needed in their homes, as well as at a music festival. At least 155 people are being held hostage, Israeli officials said.

Since then, after an intensive Israeli bombing campaign, the fighting has escalated into an all-out war. The death toll on the Israeli side reached more than 1,400 people, while the Israeli response led to the deaths of 2,670 Palestinians, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry.

Netanyahu’s political career, the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history for a total of 16 years, will end if a government inquiry concludes that he bears responsibility for the massacres during the Hamas offensive, Israeli officials and the media.

After the October War of 1973, when Israel was completely surprised by an attack by Egyptian and Syrian forces, and after the protests that followed the Israeli occupation of Lebanon in 1982, it was the government that appointed such a commission of inquiry in Israel. .

“A real scandal”

Hannon Crystal, a local policy analyst, explained that Netanyahu “is not legally obligated to do so, but the pressure of public opinion will reach a point where he has no choice.” Otherwise, the whole country will come to the streets,” he said.

On Friday, Haaretz newspaper published a cartoon of the leader of the right-wing Likud party, depicting him as a gardener watering lettuce in his garden, with the face of a Hamas leader superimposed on it.

Political expert Akiva Aldar said Netanyahu “failed all the way”. Ignore the military’s warnings. He prioritized settlement in the West Bank and generally ignored left-wing kibbutzim. He was held captive by the false belief that Hamas would never dare attack us so brutally.

He continued: “Other than that, he couldn’t make up his mind.”

A commentator on Israeli radio went in the same direction, pointing out that the formation of an “emergency government and a war government” comprising the opposition “must happen within 48 hours of the tragedy”. But have to wait for 5 days. “It’s a real scandal.”

A senior government official told the agency that no emergency government meeting was held when Hamas launched the attack, proof that Israel was completely taken by surprise.

“He has deceived us.”

Despite problems with the judiciary, which saw him prosecuted in three corruption cases, Netanyahu won the last legislative election in November 2022, returning to power based on a coalition with far-right parties and extremist Jewish organizations.

The Likud Party believes the creation of an inquiry commission after the war is “inevitable”.

Michael Binami, the head of the Likud’s office in charge of social issues, told the agency: “It will be a committee set up by a national unity government, and if (Netanyahu) made a mistake, he will have to pay the price.”

He continued: “Meanwhile, there is a war to be fought, with the Prime Minister at the helm.”

However, his leadership in this situation has sparked protests from parts of his electoral base that supported him against demonstrators who have taken to the streets every week since January, particularly in Tel Aviv, to protest the judicial reform program proposed by his government. .

Rabbi Eliezer Mosiah told the agency in Jerusalem’s Old City: “He has deceived us. We trusted him because he allocated money for education in Talmudic schools. But what good is money when our children are killed and our women are raped? He must step down. He is no longer fit to rule.”

Ramim Atali, a taxi driver in a more extreme Jerusalem, says: “Prison. There he was to end his political career. “What he did was inexcusable and he knew it.”

Netanyahu’s opponents hope that his plan to reform the judiciary will turn against him the divisions he has created within society.

A host of a program on public radio commented: “He described his enemies as traitors. But they are the ones killed by Hamas and the ones who go to Gaza and solve the problem.” Israel has vowed to “eliminate (the Hamas movement)” as it continues its preparations for a ground attack on the Gaza Strip.