Unity in Israel begins to crack as war effort lingers
By Keren Setton
Journalist
October 7 may have temporarily pushed political disagreement aside. However, Israelis who previously opposed the Netanyahu cabinet over the plans to implement a judicial reform are now doubting Netanyahu’s intentions about the war.
When the war between Hamas and Israel erupted on October 7, 2023, Israelis instantly united. After almost a year of bitter divisions over a cabinet plan to overhaul the judicial system, the scenes of Hamas’ offensive on Israel immediately pushed aside all the divisions.
Most members of the parliamentary opposition, who had frequently called for the ousting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced they were now backing the cabinet. The second-largest opposition party, led by former military chiefs Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, joined the cabinet just days after the fighting began.
Since then, more than three months into the war, the political fractures are becoming visible again.
“There was a feeling that the war would end swiftly,” Roni Rimon, a strategic adviser and partner at the public relations firm Rimon Cohen & Co., told The Media Line. “But now, as even senior officials including Netanyahu say it will last at least a year, those who want to replace him say waiting until the war is over is too long.”
“The same forces that were operating before the war continue to exist,” said Dr. Liron Lavi, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Studies at Bar-Ilan University. “To some extent, the divisions are even more highlighted because there is a war going on and people are paying with their lives.”
As the unity seems to wane, some are questioning whether Netanyahu’s handling of the war is steering Israel in the right direction. Meanwhile, others are questioning the prime minister’s motives, suggesting his political interest lies in the continuation of the fighting, which inevitably delays his political demise.
While Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out holding elections during a war, increasingly, more and more voices are saying that elections are needed now.
This is one of the reasons — but not the only one — that the Israeli premier and his Likud party are lagging in the polls, with numbers showing the party being cut in half if an election were held today. Gantz’s party, Blue and White, has almost tripled in the polls. The ultra-right-wing party, Jewish Power, has also gained some strength. It is led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has consistently voiced hardline positions about Israel’s war on Hamas.
Gantz appears to have made his political capital on putting politics aside, including his own personal benefit, and giving the Netanyahu cabinet his backing as Israel faces an uncertain future in the region.
“Gantz’s poll numbers are unrealistic and reflect the lack of an alternative for voters who are right-wing but do not want Netanyahu or the current Likud party,” Rimon explained. “Once there will be new actors from the right wing, this will change.”
But the undercurrents that reflect unease with the current leadership are gradually growing.
“It is like a water dam that has a small leak, which is gradually growing,” Rimon told The Media Line. “This sentiment will likely increase, but it is dependent on developments on the ground.”
In an interview last week, Gantz’s party member Eisenkot said that the Israeli leadership was not telling the public the truth. As part of the five-member war cabinet assembled at the beginning of the war, Eisenkot went on to say that the cabinet was spreading “illusions” by telling Israelis that the captives could be freed through military operations. The former army chief, who himself recently lost his son in the war, said the only way to secure a hostage deal was through an elongated cease-fire.
His comments came as relatives of the captives stepped up public pressure against the cabinet.
On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in several Israeli cities, calling for the release of the captives being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. One of those protests was in front of Netanyahu’s home. Demonstrators held signs of the captives, some saying the cabinet wasn’t doing enough. The goals of the war, as set out by the Netanyahu cabinet, were to release the captives and topple Hamas. As time inches by, there are increasing divisions about how the war is being handled and whether the fighting is risking the possibility of a hostage deal or promoting one.
On Monday, the Knesset was set to vote on three different no-confidence votes against the cabinet. While it is highly unlikely that there will be a majority in favor of them, the notion of unbreakable unity is beginning to crack.
When joining the cabinet, Gantz made it clear it was only to be part of the war effort. As this effort wanes, he is likely contemplating the timing of his exit.
“As long as there is intense fighting, he will and should stay,” said Rimon, “But the longer he stays, the higher the chances that any failures will stick to him.”
Gantz’s departure could signal to the public that the time is ripe for elections. According to Rimon, such a move could set off more intense public pressure to head to the ballots.
The full article first appeared in The Media Line.