Mr. Death will win again this time.
The return of the six Israeli hostages to their families in coffins is the simplest and most realistic description of an event that shook Israel.
The return of the bodies of the six hostages by the Israeli army occurred in a situation where prior to that, internal Israeli politics had become highly tense due to the intense confrontation between Netanyahu and Gantz in a meeting of the government’s security cabinet over the ceasefire agreement.
Gantz’s demand on cabinet members to not agree with Netanyahu’s efforts to block the agreement by insisting on deploying the army at strategic border crossings drew attention, warning that the hostages’ lives were in danger and they might never return.
Naturally, the cabinet did not heed his warning and approved Netanyahu’s request. Unfortunately, Hamas killed the six hostages shortly before the arrival of Israeli forces, leaving nothing but their bodies for their families. Gantz’s prediction about the fate of the hostages quickly came true, shaking Israel deeply. The intense anger of the hostages’ families led to widespread protests, and it was Saturday night when new movements began to pressure Netanyahu to accept the agreement, leading to planning for extensive gatherings on Monday.
On Monday, the first working day of the week in Israel and the day of schools reopening, a significant portion of Israeli teachers went on strike. Half a million Israeli students stayed home on the first day of the school year, naturally disrupting their parents’ daily routines.
Some of these parents may not be concerned because they themselves have joined or will join public strikes. The largest Israeli labor union has declared a strike, and the Israeli Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also publicly responded to the family council’s call by issuing statements in support of these popular protests. The Israeli Chamber of Commerce is a group consisting of over two hundred managers and leaders of large Israeli businesses and companies, and its alliance with the protesters is a heavy blow to Netanyahu.
We still need to wait for the consequences of the labor unions’ decisions and assess the extent of the strikes.
If this trend becomes serious, Netanyahu faces a serious crisis. In these extreme conditions, the Israeli coalition government extremists are putting all their efforts into advancing their policies and beyond that, fueling tensions and divisions.
Amid the current crisis and days of facing official US sanctions, Israeli settlers have managed to approve the establishment of new settlements, openly celebrating this success.
In the past two days, two extremist ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet have taken a serious stance against the media confrontation with Defense Minister Gantz and Israeli opposition leaders.
The discourse of instilling maximum fear intertwines with the idea of creating new settlements and residences for Israelis in Gaza to push independent and liberal Israelis towards right-wing extremists on one side and to make extremists hopeful and excited with promises of reasserting control in Gaza on the other.
All of this is happening at a time when the Biden foreign policy team will no longer tolerate these two ministers, as US officials have publicly criticized them.
Biden is now facing the American-Israeli hostage crisis with the death of Hersh Goldwerg, and it is unlikely that he will tolerate Netanyahu’s refusal to accept the agreement any longer.
A meeting will be held at the White House with the families of the other hostages, whose concern for the lives of their loved ones has now peaked. Netanyahu canceled an emergency government session and his TV message, which was one of his most shameless messages in the past year, disregarded the reality of what happened to the hostages, condemning Hamas’ actions in killing the hostages as a fresh warning to this group and promising to eliminate them.
He is in a dilemma, but he is accustomed to being in a dilemma.
Hamas, with its operation on October 7th, saved him from a major legal coup that had taken place in Israel and ensured his leadership. Now he is facing unprecedented protests and strikes.
Protesters and the families of the hostages have recently dubbed him ‘Mr. Death’ even before the events of the past two days. Netanyahu is so well-versed in the game of domestic politics and using the always-winning card of threatening Hamas and Iran that it is unlikely he will emerge unscathed from this round.
Anyone who can outmaneuver him is either a political genius or very lucky, luckier than Netanyahu.
