Benjamin Netanyahu is under fire for failing to prevent the Hamas attack but also his disastrous – as it turned out – strategy against the Islamist organization for to serve the plans for the annexation of lands in the West Bank. His popularity and trust in the government is in free fall, while the sense of security, a key factor for Israelis, has taken a severe blow.
Finding deadlock and discontent so pervasive in Israeli societywhere Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to issue a statement to assure that he was in full agreement with the leadership of the Defense Ministry and the Israeli army. responding to press criticism of the Israeli government’s handling of the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
And while the ground operation in the Gaza Strip still remains “imminent”, one of Israel’s largest circulation newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth, published a scathing op-ed against the government revealing that a “crisis of confidence” has set in between Netanyahu and Israel’s military leadership. “It has severely damaged commitment to war and decision-making, including painful decisions. Israel now needs an effective, focused governmentYedioth Ahronoth wrote
Drawing a comparison to the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began with an attack by Egypt and Syria and caught Israel’s military unprepared, the paper wrote that, 50 years ago, Israeli leaders were able to restore confidence before the Israel takes the final victory. “Today, Israel is managing, but it does not have a functional management.”
Last night, Netanyahu’s office, along with the defense minister and the chief of the general staff of the Israeli army, issued a statement saying they were in full cooperation and calling on the media to avoid “false reports that only harm our unity and strength.” “Between Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the Armed Forces there is absolute mutual trust and a clear unity of purpose,” the statement said.
Today, the military spokesman said that the Israeli army is ready to start the ground operation against Gaza, provided that the political leadership gives the green light. However, great pressure is exerted by the United States to contain the Israeli invasion.
“Government ministries still haven’t recovered from the shock”
Netanyahu has said the government will learn the necessary lessons from the October 7 attack. However, so far, it has not claimed responsibility for the failures of security mechanisms which allowed hundreds of armed Hamas members to invade Israel and engage in massacres and kidnappings in Israeli border communities.
Criticism of the government comes from other quarters as well, such as Israel’s mayors, who were called upon to shoulder a large burden of relief work for the population after the Hamas attack.
“I understand that everyone was in shock after what happened. It took the army a day or two to recover. It took a day or two for the local authorities to come to their senses…The government ministries still haven’t come togetherHaim Bibas, mayor of the city of Modine and president of the federation of municipalities, told Israel TV’s Channel 12 over the weekend.
Netanyahu, who returned to power this year at the head of a coalition of the hardline nationalist and religious right, has already faced an unprecedented months-long popular protest movement against his plans to reform the judiciary which seriously endangers the functioning of Israel’s democratic institutions.
Nevertheless the popularity of the Israeli government is experiencing a new deterioration after October 7 and scenes of public attacks by angry Israelis against Netanyahu government ministers flood the media.
Benjamin Netanyahu has invited Benny Gantz, the leader of the centrist Blue and White party, to join the narrow war council managing the war in Gaza as part of the formation of a national unity government. And he has drawn the ire of extremists in his government, such as the notorious Ben Gvir. However, his personal prestige, already damaged by his corruption trial, has been badly damaged and a recent poll shows that Benny Gantz would have a much, much better chance of becoming prime minister.
Source: News Beast
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