Israel’s saviour, Netanyahu, lost his glory!

 Before narrating the present volatile situation in Israel, I would like to shed some light on Netanyahu’s longest stint as administrative head with a military background since Israel’s independence.

Benjamin Netanyahu was born on October 21, 1949, in Tel Aviv, now rechristened Tel Aviv-Yafo. As a strong politician and diplomat, he served the country three times during 1996–99, 2009–21, and 2022, and he earned the distinction of being the longest-serving Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu, son of a prominent historian, had to move with his family to Philadelphia (USA) in 1963. He was enrolled in the Israeli military in 1967 and became a soldier in the elite special operations unit known as Sayeret Matkal, where he played a pivotal role while rescuing a hijacked jet plane at Tel Aviv airport in 1972. Netanyahu studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and obtained an MBA in 1976; he also took part in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. After the death of his brother Jonathan while conducting an Entebbe raid in 1976, Netanyahu founded the Jonathan Institute, which sponsored conferences on terrorism.

It may be recalled that Netanyahu held several ambassadorship positions before entering the Knesset (Israeli parliament) as a Likud member in 1988. He held the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1988–1991) and then as a Deputy Minister in Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir’s coalition cabinet (1991–92), therebylearninge the nitty-gritty of parliamentary and foreign affairs. Since then, there has been no looking back for Netanyahu, and his meteoric rise has had tremendous influence over the entire country. He became famous for his opposition to the 1993 Israel-PLO peace accords after being elected as the leader of the Likud party, succeeding Shamir. In May 1996’s elections, Netanyahu registered a victory against PM Shimon Peres,wasd directly elected PM, and formed a government; he became the youngest Prime Minister of Israel. In fact, Netanyahu’s first term as PM witnessed unrest and turmoil following the opening of an ancient tunnel near Al-Aqsa Mosque that angered Palestinians, and intense fighting ensued. Netanyahu reversed his earlier opposition to the 1993 peace accords and agreed to withdraw troops from some towns in the West Bank, including Hebron. But constant pressure from within his coalition partners forced him to announce his intention to establish a new Jewish settlement on land claimed by the Palestinians. Meanwhile, violence erupted, followed by a series of bombings that vitiated the atmosphere with mistrust and misunderstandings. Then PLO leader Yasser Arafat came into the picture, which resulted in the signing of the Wye Memorandum, thereby putting 40 percent of the West Bank under the control of Palestinians. But right-wing groups in Israel opposed the said memorandum, and some factions of Netanyahu’s coalition partners resigned, which forced the Knesset to dissolve the government. Netanyahu could not become PM until 2009.

Nobody could dispute the fact that the longest-serving PM Netanyahu’s contributions to the safety and security of Israel against hostile forces in the Middle East One can admit that in 2014, Netanyahu’s massive operations in the Gaza Strip against rocket fire into Israel effectively reduced the capacity of militants to fire rockets.

On top of it, his tough stand against the Palestinians speaks volumes in any peace talk, taking into consideration the existential danger to Israel from Iran. But it is an irony that the sword of Damocles’ hangs over his head for his alleged bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, branding him as a danger to Israel’s democracy, followed by dissension between the government and the Supreme Court over curtailment of powers in the name of judicial reforms. One cannot miss mentioning that Netanyahu became PM on March 31, 2009, for the second stint, and remained in power as PM in subsequent elections: 2013, 2015, 2021, and 2022. Albeit in his sixth stint, Netanyahu as head of the coalition government appeared closer to the political centre than his previous one in 2021.

Now the world is very much concerned about the present situation in Israel, which has witnessed thousands and thousands of protesters on the street that also include ruling functionaries and opposition members denouncing judicial reforms, thereby putting the country’s security, economy, and society in jeopardy. Even his close aide, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, urged Netanyahu to refrain from his so-called reforms with new legislation curtailing the power of the Supreme Court and vesting overriding powers in the Knesset in the interest of his religiously conservative party to remain in power. That is why Defence Minister Yoav, while speaking to the media categorically, stated that the hasty decision to overhaul the judiciary will be counter-productive with wider ramifications, which will not benefit the countrymen as expected, and more so, it affects the morale of the Israel Army in the face of constant militant terrorist activities emanating from its inimical neighbour Palestine. But Netanyahu turned a deaf ear to the wise counsel of Yoav, and immediately after the latter’s televised message, he sacked Gallant from the post of Defence Minister, to the astonishment of the entire nation.

During the ongoing upsurge following Netanyahu’s individual overhauling measures to be taken by the Knesset in Israel, Israel’s military had to encounter the toughest situation from Palestinian militants and terrorist activists, coupled with rocket attacks from Syrian territory towards Israel from the north-eastern inimical neighbours. Against this backdrop, Israel’s counter-active retaliatory measures prompted it to even attack Syrian army sites within the compound of Syria’s 4th Division, which included radar and military ports. Since the entire episode emanated from the soil of Iran, Israel has successfully carried out military defensive measures for its sovereignty and security. According to the latest news until July 3, 2023, the Israel Defence Forces rebuffed Hamas militants attacks from Lebanon and rockets fired from Gaza. Of course, tensions are mounting following Israel’s police raids at the Al-Agsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Jerusalem, where Palestinian militants are reported to have taken shelter. While bolstering counter-terrorism operations, I hit an underground terrorist tunnel where a workshop had been functioning for manufacturing lethal weapons. That’s why Israel’s Lt. Col. Richard Hocht has rightly said, “Quiet will be answered with Quiet”. Since nobody wants a further escalation of hostility, paving the way for another war, both sides need to be reticent.

At this critical juncture, the people of Israel need to support the stand of PM Netanyahu, and Netanyahu too needs to respect public opinion on his Judicial reforms.

Time will tell whether peace returns to Israel and Palestine and the lost glory of Netanyahu is regained!