Netanyahu Predicament in Israeli Politics; How will the Fresh Protests and Strikes Unfold? [Part Two]

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have died in Gaza Since May negotiations. Israel has stepped up its activities in areas outside Gaza, including the warfare against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The country, however, has concentrated more of its efforts, rather than negotiating, on using military force to liberate the hostages. It began a campaign at the beginning of June that resulted in the release of four prisoners. Over two hundred Palestinians were murdered in the same assault, according to local sources.

But within Israel, there has been growing disapproval with this approach. The resistance to Netanyahu’s strategy has only grown stronger in the wake of the six corpses’ impressive recovery.

At this point, Benjamin Netanyahu and the administration are being cautious.

The Israeli prime minister has previously served as the main target of large-scale demonstrations in the country. Last year, tens of thousands of people demonstrated against his proposals to restructure the legal system in the nation. Opponents contended that the overhaul was an effort to avoid being charged with fraud from a previous reign.

This summer also saw demonstrations against the administration, with demonstrators calling for the immediate release of Israeli prisoners held in Gaza and an end to the violence.

The Israeli prime minister has made it quite evident that he has no zealous involvement in a truce or hostage negotiation. It ought to come as naturally to those who are startled, upset, and incensed by what transpired, as this is precisely what his own defense minister was cautioning against. It was Natanyahu’s unwillingness to enter into a contract that gave rise to the current predicament in Israel.

According to poll over a month ago, 72% of Israeli people said Netanyahu ought to step down. The underlying reason was his inability to thwart the October 7 assault led by Hamas. Israeli pm’s popularity has gradually improved in the polls, despite the fact that he is extremely unpopular with a certain portion of the populace. He was still more popular than his chief rival, Benny Gantz, in other surveys represented in late August.

Additionally, Netanyahu continues to have the backing of the far-right, such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two of his cabinet ministers. Along with forging this alliance, he also granted them important roles and authority. Whenever they grew untamed, he never brought them back into line. In response to the revelation of the six hostages’ losses, Ben-Gvir called for the construction of settlements in Gaza, despite the fact many others have urged Netanyahu to reach a truce agreement. “Those who place the blame on the Israeli government echo Hamas propaganda,” Ben-Gvir alleged on X. “In Gaza, too, the price of killing the abductees should be where it hurts them – the occupation of more territory and the establishment of a Jewish settlement in Gaza.”

But analysts think it has not been cheap to appease the far right. Israeli prime minister is attempting to maintain his political position. He’s not some utterly depraved tyrant behaving in his own self-interest.

Not many political figures have taken strong action against Netanyahu up until this point. This, according to experts, is due to the lack of a well-developed political solution to the conflict Israel is involved in Gaza.
Nonetheless, Netanyahu’s principal opponents have begun to back down in recent days. According to the defense minister, it is morally repugnant for Netanyahu to favor the Philadelphia Corridor over the safety of the captives. Across the political spectrum, chief of the Israeli opposition, Yair Lapid, supported the labor strikes.