Experts: Netanyahu is trying to exploit crises to his advantage, and Washington no longer sees him as an ally

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With the momentum of crises surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the man is trying to exploit all these crises to secure his political future, regardless of Israel's interest, observers say.

At a time when Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure from the families of prisoners regarding the fate of their loved ones and from the United States regarding the military operation he wants in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the crisis regarding the law on recruiting ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) inside Israel is increasing.

Despite these great pressures, Dr. Muhannad Mustafa, an expert on Israeli affairs, believes that Netanyahu is still dealing with all these crises from the standpoint of his political interest and not from the standpoint of Israel’s interest. He is even prepared to sacrifice relations with the United States for the sake of his goals.

During his participation in the program “Gaza... What Next?”, Mustafa said that Netanyahu continues to emphasize that he is the only leader capable of protecting Israel’s interests, stressing that this method raised his popularity internally from 24% last October to 32% during March. This March, he also succeeded in installing his government.

Netanyahu also succeeded in another important thing, which is to make the assassination of the leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, as happened in the case of Marwan Issa, a type of war to win this war, as Mustafa says.

Netanyahu is no longer an ally of Washington

On the contrary, former US State Department official William Lawrence believes that Netanyahu has failed to deal with all crises, to the point that the administration of US President Joe Biden “considers him no longer an ally of America, but rather Israel is the ally.”

From Lawrence's point of view, the Israeli Prime Minister "is no longer doing what Washington wants, especially with regard to delivering aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, and he is no longer able to continue political life after the war."

Regarding the reason for this American shift towards Netanyahu, Lawrence says that the man is “incapable of achieving the peace that Washington has repeatedly repeated its need for, in addition to harming relations between the two countries.”

Therefore, Washington’s abandonment of Israel in the UN Security Council “may lead to its punishment in the International Court of Justice,” says Lawrence, who does not believe that Netanyahu wants to humiliate Biden in the election year, as some say, but rather wants to secure his own political future.

Internal division

Although Netanyahu has escaped the trap of political collapse so far, there is a major division within Israel regarding the future of Israel, as some believe that he (Netanyahu) is taking it to the abyss, while others see him as a hero who succeeded in confronting America, and it is a division that he must deal with, as Mustafa says. .

But the most important point - in Mustafa's opinion - is that "the deep state (the security and military institutions) sees it as a disaster for Israel because it opposes Washington, while they realize that there is no security for Israel without America, and they see it as ready to sacrifice this relationship in order to remain in power."

Lawrence supports this matter, saying that Netanyahu is "harming the relationship with America, with the Palestinians, and with the entire world," stressing that "there is a radical change in American policy with young Jews, with Arabs, and even with Americans who are fed up with Israel's reputation as a genocidal state."

Lawrence believes that "this is a loss that may not be easily compensated for, and that Israeli relations with Washington will not return to what they were before, especially since normalization of Israel is no longer possible under Netanyahu."

Regarding the United States’ position on the crises that Israel is experiencing, Lawrence said, “Everything that could bring down Netanyahu benefits Washington now, including pressure from the families of prisoners and resignations in the government, because all of this serves the file of negotiations.”

Despite all this controversy, Lawrence asserts that Washington is still able to restrain him, as evidenced by the fact that it prevented him from entering the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, two months ago because it actually refused to do so.

According to the former US State Department official, Washington cornered Israel regarding accepting a temporary ceasefire for prisoner negotiations and not allowing the invasion of Rafah, both of which Israel does not want, according to him.

Lawrence concluded that Washington "has influence over Israel and has a great will to stop it at any moment, and it has done so in previous wars," adding, "It is true that the United States has not stopped Israel yet, but it is close to doing so."

The most serious issue

Regarding the most dangerous issue for Netanyahu’s government, Mustafa said that the draft law for Haredi Jews may bring down his government because he is trying to formulate a law that serves his electoral agenda, but if he submits to either party (supporters or opponents), his government will fall because this will lead to protests related to the future of Israel in general.

While War Council member Benny Gantz threatened to resign from the war government if a law was not enacted to recruit the Haredim, the extremists threatened to leave the country if they were recruited.

Therefore, Mustafa says that this war sparked disputes that were controlled historically, but they became uncontrolled during this war, and the next stage will be a stage of great divisions, stressing that Israel “if it does not resolve some matters, it will be in a historical dilemma, in addition to being at a historical juncture that threatens its identity and its future.” .

Source: Al Jazeera