Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in trouble. As in, facing a non-zero risk of losing his job trouble. And this political drama could have a profound effect on Israel’s approach to the conflict with Palestine.
Netanyahu’s poll numbers since the October 7 Hamas massacre have been grim: one recent survey found that a staggering 80 percent of Israelis held him personally responsible for failing to prevent the Hamas attack; another found trust in the government at a 20-year low. To address his collapsing support, the prime minister held a press conference on Saturday — his first since the attack.
It was, to put it mildly, an embarrassment. Appearing alongside Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Unity party leader Benny Gantz, the prime minister appeared out of sorts, stumbling over a prayer for the Israeli army. He faced so many hostile questions from reporters, and had so few good answers, that he left early — only answering seven of the 12 questions he was slated to take.
Hours later, around 1 am Sunday Israel time, he sent out a tweet blaming Israel’s military and intelligence services for the failure to stop Hamas’ incursion — while pointedly refusing to take responsibility himself. The public backlash was so severe that Netanyahu deleted the post and apologized for sending it, the first time he had apologized for anything since the war began. (He still has not accepted any responsibility for the government’s failure.)
While many Israelis almost immediately blamed Netanyahu for the attack, they could spare little energy for internal political conflict amid the horror. But the weekend’s debacle has brought the question of Netanyahu’s fitness for office during wartime to the center of Israeli political debate.
In a Sunday interview, retired Israeli Gen. Noam Tibon — who, as a 62-year-old private citizen, took up arms on October 7 to defend Nahal Oz against Hamas — said Netanyahu needed to “resign now” for the…
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