His popularity rose during the aggression. Did Netanyahu ensure that protests against him would stop after the Gaza offensive ended?

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party have risen in popularity in the wake of the aggression on the Gaza Strip, which analysts estimate came to seek a lifeline for Netanyahu amid the expansion of weeks of demonstrations and protests against his government, a poll conducted by the Israeli newspaper Maariv.

This rise in the popularity of Netanyahu and his party came as the aggression continued and the assassination of leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades (the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement), and despite differences between Israeli politicians and military personnel in estimating the continuation of the battle.

According to the poll presented by Channel N12 last night and supervised by the right-wing media personality very close to Netanyahu (Amit Segal), the author of the series of reports (Days of Benjamin)

54% of the Israelis support the continuation of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
While 61% of Israeli respondents gave a good score... pic.twitter.com/bpChpj9SHu

— Saeed Bisharat Saaed Bisharat (@saaed_bsharat) May 13, 2023

Voices were raised in the Israeli political map, especially in the opposition camp, which demanded an end to the military escalation against the Gaza Strip, after accusing Netanyahu of exploiting it for political purposes rather than security or military.

These voices were reinforced by the announcement by the Israeli military level after two days of escalation that it had recommended ending the military operation for fear of being dragged into a full-scale confrontation that could lead to war on several fronts.

The debate among Israelis increases with voices saying that "Netanyahu initiated this military operation to quell popular protests against his policy and against the plan for judicial reforms."

Prior to the escalation on the Gaza front, opinion polls showed the rise in the strength of the opposition parties and the success of the head of the nationalist camp Benny Gantz in doubling his strength in contrast to the decline in the popularity of Netanyahu and his party, and the decline in the parliamentary power of the parties of the government coalition, and the impossibility of forming a government in the event of new elections, which supports the hypothesis that Netanyahu will go to military escalation in order to save his government.

Escalation in Gaza leads to a rise in the popularity of Israelis led by it (Anatolia)

Popularity linked to escalation

Political and partisan affairs analyst Mohammad Majadleh said that the political map in Israel is affected by military operations and wars; whoever leads the rounds of escalation increases his popularity, and this has become a regular occurrence in the Israeli scene.

He explained Majadleh in his speech to Al Jazeera Net that Netanyahu took into account that there is a political benefit for him and his Likud party specifically from the aggression on Gaza, in light of criticism of the performance of his government and the expansion of protests against the plan amendments in the judiciary led by Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

The political and party affairs analyst believes that the results of the military operation against Gaza will have an impact on the results of opinion polls in Israeli society and on the strength of parties, including Netanyahu's popularity and the parliamentary strength of the Likud Party.

He stressed that the aggression on Gaza, whatever its consequences, will not give Netanyahu a clear image of victory, especially in the first two days of the start of the military operation, especially with the divergence of views between the political and military levels on the feasibility of continuing the military operation.

What impact does the continuation of the battle have on Netanyahu's image, which he was trying to improve by targeting Palestinian leaders in #غزة#الأخبار pic.twitter.com/eJ7NJFPQSR

— Al Jazeera (@AJArabic) May 13, 2023

Internal and external opposition

"The prime minister will face opposition on two fronts: internal opposition in his government and accusations that he agreed to the conditions of the resistance factions and acquiesced to them," as well as "traditional opposition from parties outside the coalition that will accuse him of failing to manage the military operation, and that he could have ended it in the first two days without incurring losses," he said.

As for the future of the protest demonstrations against Netanyahu and the right-wing parties after the end of the aggression on Gaza, he says that "the only slight achievement Netanyahu achieved was the reduction of protests during the military operation, for the first time in 19 weeks."

However, it is not excluded that the protests will return to their momentum, and may even escalate if the Israeli opposition realizes that the Netanyahu government is proceeding with legislation and a coup against the judiciary, which the opposition forces have already announced their intention to resume marches even before the end of the aggression on Gaza.

Netanyahu sought to escape forward and save his government coalition through the aggression on Gaza (French)

Escape Forward

Peace Now spokesman Adam Clare agrees with the argument and believes that protests against Netanyahu's government will escalate as the round of escalation ends, revealing that Netanyahu is evasive and stalling negotiations with the Israeli president in order to reach a settlement with the opposition on the "reform plan in the judiciary."

Claire doubted – in his interview with Al Jazeera Net – the possibility that Netanyahu will succeed in coming out as a victory from the escalation on the Gaza front, pointing out that there were no justifications for this military operation except for political gains.

He explained that Netanyahu deliberately used aggression against the Palestinians in order to fortify his government and contain internal differences with the "Greatness of Israel" party headed by Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the religious Zionist party headed by Bezalel Smotrich, as the military operation by Netanyahu came to escape forward and avoid the disintegration of his government.

No fundamental changes

As for the Israeli street's vision of Netanyahu and his government after the end of the round of escalation, Claire said that "experiences in Israel confirm that once the military operations end and the war ends, contradictions in the political scene begin and criticism, opposition and accusations surface."

He pointed out that the rise in the popularity of those who lead military operations against the Palestinians or those who wage wars is momentary in the Israeli scene and does not last long, especially with Netanyahu and his current government.

The spokesman believes that the escalation on Gaza will not bring about fundamental changes at the strategic level, despite the Zionist consensus and initial support for the government to launch the military offensive, due to "fear and danger to Israeli national security," which is the scarecrow raised by those who lead any military operation.