Mr. Death will win again this time
The return of six Israeli hostages to their families was in coffins, this is the simplest and most realistic description of an event that shook Israel
The return of the bodies of six hostages by the Israeli army occurred under conditions where Israeli domestic politics had become extremely tense with a fierce confrontation between Netanyahu and Gallant in the security cabinet meeting over the ceasefire agreement
Gallant’s request to the cabinet members not to agree with Netanyahu’s efforts to obstruct the agreement, insisting on deploying the army at strategic border crossings, turned into a plea. He warned that the hostages’ lives were in danger and that they might never return
Naturally, the cabinet ignored him and approved Netanyahu’s request. Unfortunately, Hamas killed the six hostages moments before Israeli forces reached them, leaving nothing but their bodies for their families. Gallant’s prediction, at least regarding the six hostages, quickly came true. Israel was deeply shaken. The intense anger of the hostages’ families led to widespread protests, and on Saturday night, new movements to pressure Netanyahu to accept the agreement led to planning for large gatherings on Sunday
Sunday was the first working day of the week in Israel and the day schools reopened. A significant portion of Israeli teachers went on strike, and half a million Israeli students stayed home on the first day of the school year, naturally disrupting their parents’ lives
Many of these parents might not be worried because they themselves have joined or will join the general strikes. Israel’s largest labor union has declared a strike, and the Israeli Business and Commerce Council, following a public invitation from the hostages’ families’ council, issued a statement joining these public protests. The Israeli Business Council is a group of over two hundred managers and heads of major Israeli businesses and companies, and its alliance with the protesters is a heavy blow to Netanyahu
We still have to wait for the consequences of the labor unions’ decision and examine the scope of the strikes
If this trend becomes serious, Netanyahu will face a serious crisis. In these circumstances, the extremists in the Israeli coalition government have devoted all their efforts to advancing their policies and beyond that, to fueling tension and division
Exactly in the current critical situation and in the days when Israeli extremist settlers have faced official sanctions from the United States, they have succeeded in getting the establishment of new settlements approved, and Smotrich publicly celebrated this success
Two extremist ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet have spent the past two days seriously engaging in media confrontation with Gallant, the defense minister, and the leaders of the Israeli opposition
The discourse of creating maximum fear of Hamas’s resurgence has intertwined with the idea of establishing new settlements and residences for Israelis in Gaza, to both worry independent and liberal Israelis and draw moderate right-wingers towards the extreme side of politics, and on the other hand, to excite and give hope to extremists with the promise of regaining control in Gaza
All this is happening while Biden’s foreign policy team will no longer tolerate these two ministers, and American officials’ criticisms of them have reached public statements
Biden is now faced with the death of Hersh Goldberg, an American-Israeli hostage, 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 their loved ones has now peaked. Netanyahu canceled the emergency government meeting, and his television message, one of his most shameless in the past year, ignored the reality of what happened to the hostages and was dedicated to condemning Hamas’s action in killing the hostages, issuing a new warning to this group, and promising to eliminate them
He is in a predicament, but he is accustomed to being in a predicament
Hamas, with the October 7 operation, rescued him from the major predicament of the judicial coup he had carried out in Israel and secured his premiership. Now he is faced with unprecedented protests and strikes
Protesters and the hostages’ families have recently, even before the events of the past two days, given him the nickname Mr. Death. Netanyahu is so skilled in the domestic political game and using the always-winning card of the threat of Hamas and Iran that it is unlikely he will not emerge unscathed from this round
Whoever brings him down is either a political genius or very lucky, luckier than Netanyahu
