The Age/Geraldine Brooks/19.4.2024/pm
Imagine the future of the world in the hands of a total mad man – not Trump this time but Netanyahu – now that is the source of nightmares – Mark
With all the blood and terror since last October, it is easy to forget that it took five back-to-back elections to put Bibi Netanyahu in the position he now occupies: the leader whose next decision might
plunge his region, and maybe the world, into full-scale war.
This power rests in the hands of a man who, at home, has become widely despised, with only 15 per cent of Israelis now saying they support him.
It is worth recalling how arduous his path to power was, and how tenuously he holds it. In December 2018, with a one-seat majority, facing indictment on corruption charges, Netanyahu called a snap election, but instead of strengthening his position, he weakened it. With Netanyahu unable to form a government, a second election was called, and then a third, also inconclusive. With the coronavirus raging, Netanyahu’s rival Benny Gantz agreed to form a unity government. When Netanyahu reneged on their power-sharing agreement, a fourth election brought the centrist Yair Lapid to power, but his fragile coalition collapsed within a year.
At this fifth election in four years, in November 2022, voters of the left and centre proved more exhausted than the far-right and the ultra-Orthodox, who turned out in slightly greater numbers. By accommodating hate-mongers and fanatics, Netanyahu was narrowly able to form the most right-wing government in the country’s history. Its extremist policies provoked unprecedented demonstrations that shut down cities and had reservists threatening to decline military service.
And then came the intelligence failures that left Israelis vulnerable to carnage on October 7. Since then, Netanyahu’s cobweb-thin backing has disintegrated. Netanyahu knows that as soon as war ends, his political career will be over.
That is what makes him so dangerous. With civilian deaths soaring in Gaza and Israeli hostages languishing, he chose the most volatile moment to provoke Iran by bombing its consulate in Damascus. This violation of international law would have met global opprobrium had the perpetrator and victim been any other nation. There is a good reason that diplomatic premises are considered off limits. Foreign relations can barely function without this norm and by breaching it, Israel lowered the bar for such attacks by bad actors everywhere. The US still hasn’t gotten over Iran’s seizure of its Tehran embassy in 1980. Two died in that shameful episode; 16 were killed in Israel’s recent strike. Israeli and US diplomatic premises are already bristling fortresses, making the delicate work of diplomacy difficult. Now they will need to be fortified even further.
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