Mr. Security now war premier, but 'Netanyahu has completely lost confidence'
"Netanyahu is responsible for this war between Israel and Hamas," the critical Israeli newspaper Haaretz headlined
a day after Hamas' bloody terror attack. A few days later, the same newspaper, in a scathing
column, called the prime minister a "gang leader" who cannot stay on. Among the population, Netanyahu's popularity has fallen to an all-time low. A recent poll shows that four in five Israeli Jews hold Netanyahu and his government responsible for last week's attack. A majority of them want Netanyahu to leave when the war is over. They include many who previously did support his government. Residents of Israel are furious that Mr. Security, as the prime minister is often called, failed to protect the country from the largest attack on civilians in the country's history. The Hamas terror attack last week killed and kidnapped hundreds of Israelis in the south of the country.
"The criticism of Netanyahu has only increased since last week," said Bart Wallet, professor of Jewish history at the University of Amsterdam. The top army commander acknowledged shortcomings this week, but Netanyahu took no responsibility for his political failures. It took a week for the prime minister to visit the affected kibbutzim. "He did not speak to the press and did not speak to victims," said Noa Schonmann, Middle East expert and researcher at Leiden University. "In comments and on social media, there has been a lot of criticism. Even voters who first supported him are saying: Bibi must go." In Israeli politics, the ranks are closing and Netanyahu, with opposition support, is now leading a war cabinet. This government of national unity will deal with the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Lapid supports the war being waged, but does not want to cooperate with the "extremists" in the war cabinet. By this he is referring to Ben Gvir, the minister of national security, and Smotrich, finance minister. They are known as radical right-wing and ultranationalist. Lapid called the attack an "unforgivable mistake" and said the politicians who "started this cannot fix it." But Netanyahu refused to show his far-right coalition partners the door.
Critics say the government has recently been concerned only with securing its own position. They were also busy protecting illegal settlers in the West Bank at the expense of security in other parts of the country. There was already widespread criticism among Israelis of the government's policy of bending the rule of law to its will. Large-scale protests were held for months. "The country is divided to the bone," Wallet said. "Over democracy, the position of minorities and whether it should be a secular or religious state." Those divisions are now giving way to unity among the population. "Now everyone is in the throes of war," he says. There is a strong feeling in Israel that this may be the most vulnerable moment in the country's existence. "There is no doubt that Israelis support this war against Hamas," Schonmann said. "The shock is still great. The enemy is holding their people hostage." There is also fear that the country may be attacked again, for example by Hezbollah from Lebanon. Whether Netanyahu will eventually be held politically responsible and have to step down is the big question. The longest-serving prime minister has reinvented himself several times in recent years and kept coming back despite major scandals.
"He has a big political bag of tricks," Wallet said. "Netanyahu is someone with many political lives."
