Ground beneath bibi ...
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At the same time, opposition leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday met with two heads of right-wing parties in an attempt to coordinate a bloc that will work together to bring down the Netanyahu’s cabinet.
Lapid, Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman and New Hope leader Gideon Sa’ar agreed on a plan of action to replace the cabinet for the sake of the future of the regime, a statement on behalf of the trio said. They once again called on National Unity party chief Benny Gantz to quit the coalition and join them, as Gantz has threatened to do by June 8 if the premier fails to meet a series of demands.
On Thursday, Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz’s centrist party proposed a bill to dissolve parliament, showing the growing strains in Netanyahu’s cabinet even if the prime minister has enough lawmakers to keep him in office.
According to Haaretz, but it was unclear whether he has enough support to bring about snap elections.
On Thursday, residents in Tel Aviv protested, demanding the dissolution of Netanyahu’s cabinet and early elections. The protesters chanted slogans against Netanyahu, highlighting the urgent need to exchange captives with the Palestinian resistance in Gaza. Zionist captive families participating in the protests also expressed that without ending the war, no exchanges would occur, with many of them advocating for a cease-fire in exchange for the return of captives.
Netanyahu’s coalition cabinet is comprised of right-wing parties that hold 64 seats in the Knesset. Considering that the parliament has 120 seats, the Netanyahu’s shaky cabinet will only collapse if a few representatives leave the ruling coalition, leading to early elections.
Israel’s Maariv newspaper published the results of a survey on May 10, indicating a decline in the popularity and position of the Likud party and the far-right coalition. Based on the survey, if early elections are held in the occupied territories, the right-religious coalition under Netanyahu will only secure 47 seats and will be deprived of achieving a majority. In contrast, the coalition of Netanyahu’s opponents will gain 68 seats, paving the way for their victory in the elections and potentially forming a coalition cabinet.
Simultaneously with such movements in Israel against Netanyahu, it appears that his star is also on the decline in the international arena. A group of Western countries underscore the idea of a “Two-State” solution, namely the formation of independent Palestinian and Israeli states, as the pathway to a sustainable peace. Recently, Spain, Norway, and Ireland have also recognized an independent Palestinian state. Another European country, Slovenia, has signed and sent a proposal to recognize the Palestinian state for approval by the parliament.
However, the ruling extremist cabinet in Israel opposes the formation of an independent Palestinian state, and, in reality, achieving peace in this region from the perspective of Western nations is tied to the removal of Netanyahu’s cabinet. The support of some European countries, including Joseph Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, for the international criminal court’s ruling on the arrest of Israel’s prime minister and defense minister on charges of war crimes must also be evaluated in this context as Europeans also seek liberation from the Netanyahu cabinet’s influence.