Netanyahu claims victory over Iran – but polling shows many Israelis don’t trust him

In March, when he turned his back on a ceasefire process that gave results, the Israeli Prime Minister made a decision described by certain commentators as “political suicide”.

Donald Trump’s envoy, negotiated by Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, even before the American president was inaugurated in his second term, had led to the release of dozens of hostages from the captivity of Hamas, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

The following scene had to see more hostages go home and a gradual withdrawal from the Israeli troops from Gaza, before a negotiated end to war.

Tired of conflicts, the Israelis and the Palestinians considered the end of the most destructive war of a common history too frequently punctuated by the fighting.

But Benjamin Netanyahu did not want war to end.

As he ordered the resumption of attacks across Gaza, the Prime Minister said that the fighting would continue until Hamas was “completely destroyed”.

The safe return of the remaining hostages to Gaza seemed to be a secondary consideration. (The civil consequences in Gaza herself have not deserved a mention.)

Many Israelis, especially hostage families, have been indignant.

They accused Netanyahu of having put his own political survival before the security of their loved ones and the greatest good of the nation.

The popularity of “bibi” in the polls has dropped and he had trouble keeping a disjointed government together, supported by hard ministers of religious parties on the far right and orthodox.

Three months later, Netanyahu bask in the glory of a spectacular military victory over his sworn enemy, Iran. It is now said that he was considering early elections and another mandate as Prime Minister.

At a press conference earlier this week, the 75 -year -old man, who is already the oldest leader in Israel, said he always had “many missions” to finish and would seek it as long as “the people” of Israel wanted it.

Later in the week, and presenting the alleged destruction of the Iranian nuclear program as an “window of opportunity” which “should not be missed”, Netanyahu suggested that he could ensure the “release of hostages and the defeat of Hamas”, after which he would conclude broader regional agreements.

But calling for the first elections would be a great risk and, according to the latest polls, Netanyahu did not appreciate such an important “rebound” of the 12 -day conflict with Iran that he could have hoped for.

In a fractured political system where the construction of the coalition is essential in the knesset of 120 places, the Likud party of Netanyahu would fall below a majority and could have trouble gathering the support of the small parties on the right, suggests the last survey in the Ma’ariv newspaper.

The same survey suggested a large majority, 59% of Israelis, want the fights to Gaza to stop now, in exchange for hostages.

Almost half of those who asked, around 49%, also thought that the only reason why Netanyahu continues war is for his own political considerations.

“The guy is a very skilful political player,” said Professor Tamar Hermann, principal researcher at Israel Democracy Institute. “There is no longer a qualified politician in Israel.”

But, he says, “confidence” is a big problem for Netanyahu.

A political leader who has changed his place so many times to hang on to the reins of power is simply no longer believed by the majority of Israelis.

According to new polls, which will soon be published by Professor Hermann Israel Democracy Institute, Netanyahu “does not cross the 50% line in terms of Israelis expressing complete or even partial confidence in Him”.

In some respects, says Professor Hermann, deciding to call the early elections “is an even greater risk [for Netanyahu] What to attack Iran because in the Middle East, you really don’t know where you will be in six months. “

This is because, despite his military bet in Iran that has apparently borne fruit, there is an elephant in the corner of Benjamin Netanyahu’s living room.

Indeed, you could say that a small herd of elephants threatens to disrupt the hopes of the Prime Minister from another mandate.

Next week, he must testify in a high -level criminal case in which he faces accusations of political corruption, including corruption and fraud.

The Prime Minister attempts to, once again, delay the hearing of the High Court because of its busy schedule and the special emergency state (during the Iran war) were rejected at the end of last week.

Netanyahu and his supporters have tried several times to represent the legal file against him as part of a “politically motivated witch hunt”, but in an increasingly polarized society, his opponents are also determined that he should face justice.

Seeming to discover late on the legal problems of “Bibi, President Trump said that Netanyahu was a” great hero “and” warrior “whose trial should be” canceled immediately “or, at the very least, he should be forgiven.

This, remember, is the same American president who, a few days earlier, had publicly castigated the Israeli Prime Minister-with explanations-while the ceasefire of Iran threatened to decline before starting.

But Trump’s last intervention was described as reckless and useless by many in Israel.

The opposition chief, Yair, Lapid, said that he should not “intervene in a legal process of an independent state”.

His apparently contradictory position on Israel and an attempted intervention in the Netanyahu legal affair are likely to “treat us as a banana republic,” said Professor Hermann.

On the international scene, many Israelis accuse Netanyahu of having harmed the global position of Israel and its economic prospects by unnecessarily prolonging the war in Gaza, even if many former generals said that the Israeli defense forces (FDI) have reached Gaza as much as possible.

Nor should we forget that the International Criminal Court still has mandates issued against the Prime Minister – and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant – about war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where more than 55,000 people were killed in the War of Israel against Hamas.

The Israeli government, as well as Netanyahu and Gallant, strongly reject the accusations.

In the end, say that most commentators would be difficult to imagine that new elections are called in Israel while the war in Gaza continues and the Israeli hostages remain captive.

But many criticisms and opponents of Netanyahu have prematurely radiated it over the years and have certainly learned to never guess what its next move could be.