Two American writers said - in two separate articles in the Washington Post - that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing battles on many fronts with groups he relied on as allies, and he is exploiting all the tools in his power, in an increasingly desperate effort to cling to power.

The two writers talked about what they called Netanyahu's many battles with those far and near, amid the devastating and unprecedented war on the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands of people were killed and most of the Strip's residents were displaced, as well as amid the escalating tensions on the northern border with Lebanon.

Ishaan Tharoor said - in his column in the Washington Post - that Netanyahu recently canceled his wartime “government”, which included more moderate political rivals, which was formed to manage Israel’s response to the shocking attack launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7. The first in the south of the country.

Disagreements over Netanyahu's handling of the war and his appeasement of the extreme right led him to stray from the purpose of the committee, quarreled with Israel's generals, and also attacked US President Joe Biden for what he said was withholding weapons from Israel and thwarting its goal of completely defeating Hamas, ignoring the huge amount of The support provided by the Biden administration to Israel.

American anger

But it seems to Tharoor that Netanyahu's criticism of the White House is aimed at gaining support from his right-wing base and strengthening Biden's Republican opponents, who - amid intense polarization - have invited him to address a joint session of Congress next month.

Martin Indyk, the former US ambassador to Israel, said that Tel Aviv is at war on several fronts, with Hamas in Gaza, with the Houthis in Yemen, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and with Iran, and yet Netanyahu is attacking the United States based on a lie he invented, which means that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson should withdraw his invitation to Netanyahu to address Congress until he retracts and apologizes.

The rapprochement with the Biden administration did not last long, and American officials complained about Netanyahu’s refusal to formulate a plan for the next day, as well as about the increasing humanitarian collapse inside Gaza, and the hatred became more apparent - according to the writer - by Netanyahu publishing a video clip in which he accuses Biden of obstructing the Israeli war effort, saying, “ “It is unreasonable for the administration to withhold weapons and ammunition from Israel over the past few months.”

American officials reacted angrily in private, canceling a strategic planning meeting scheduled for this week. Amid public confusion, officials said that only one shipment of heavy bombs was delayed, while other weapons worth millions of dollars continued to flow. “We really don't know what's going on," officials said. He talks about it,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Internal anger

Internal anger over Netanyahu's unwillingness to conclude a ceasefire agreement and release detainees in Gaza has fueled protests and calls for his resignation and new elections, at a time when an opinion poll showed that Defense Minister Yoav Galant's approval ratings are much higher than Netanyahu's approval ratings.

Netanyahu insists on the need to allow Israel to eliminate Hamas, although many senior experts confirm the impossibility of completely defeating it militarily in the absence of a permanent political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as do the senior ranks of the army. Army spokesman Daniel Hagari said, “Hamas cannot be destroyed; “Hamas is an idea. Those who think it can be made to disappear are mistaken.”

Hagari appears to be clearly referring to Netanyahu and his far-right allies, including far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, whose support he relies on to remain in power, and who have openly opposed any “day after” strategy, angering the Israeli security establishment and many in the country. Netanyahu's centrist rivals, according to the writer.

A small uprising

For his part, American writer Steve Hendricks says - in an article in the Washington Post - that Netanyahu moved quickly, in the midst of the chaos that followed the sudden attack launched by Hamas, to unify the many warring factions in Israel.

He took the initiative to invite the opposition to share power in the emergency war government, and Likud and coalition members united their ranks behind him. The military commanders saluted and set off to continue the war, and even Biden - who had a tense relationship with Netanyahu - made a dramatic wartime visit and wrapped his arms around the prime minister.

Hendricks continued that this unit held out for several months, but as the war continued, the reserve soldiers were exhausted, and popular anger escalated due to the government’s failure to reach an agreement to return the detainees to their homeland, the cracks began to widen, and perhaps the most surprising and perhaps dangerous internal battles are the recent rebellion within his coalition. , and even within his own party, when members refused to support a piece of legislation he ordered them to pass.

Likud mayors and lawmakers, in a rare rebellion, rejected the bill giving the government more power over municipal rabbis, and Netanyahu was forced to withdraw it, marking a small uprising but a sign that the prime minister's iron grip on Likud could be slipping.

In the same context, writer Hendricks pointed out that Benny Gantz's departure from the coalition government and its dissolution raised fears that Netanyahu would rely more on his more extremist partners in the conflict in Gaza, even with the threat of a second war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

As the fighting in Gaza continued, senior officers cited the need for a “day after” plan to determine who would run Gaza when the fighting ended, because without a plan they could not withdraw their forces from Gaza without fear of Hamas quickly regrouping, rearming and threatening to carry out an operation. Others, such as October 7th.

As for Netanyahu, who stands in this political minefield - the author explains - and whose most extremist partners advocate Israel’s permanent occupation of Gaza and the rebuilding of the Jewish settlements there, he refuses to talk about any plan at all, and when pressed, he repeats that Israel will continue to fight. Until Hamas is “destroyed” and the prisoners are freed.

Source: Washington Post