Netanyahu hits a new low — and he’s going lower

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hit a nadir — even for him — and he will soon go even lower as he foments what could become a civil war in Israel. The current internal Israeli strife might be worse than the situation on Oct. 6, 2023, the day before the Hamas massacres.

Beset by a multiplicity of scandals, including within the prime minister’s office, a substantial majority of Israelis increasingly fears that, even after 17 months of war, Netanyahu continues to operate for his own political benefit rather than the benefit of the country.

The hostages remaining in Gaza — the single most important issue for Israelis — have been abandoned as Israel has restarted the Gaza war. Evidence mounted during the ceasefire that Netanyahu’s primary war objective, the elimination of Hamas as a coherent unit, had thus far failed.

Unsurprisingly, Netanyahu has begun to lash out, using sound-bite canards that bear no relationship to fact. In a video released last week, he blamed “deep state leftists” for all his problems. Separately, Netanyahu claimed that Ronen Bar — the head of the General Security Services (or Shin Bet, as it is known by its Hebrew acronym), whom he is trying to fire — had early knowledge of the Oct. 7 attack but kept it to himself.

While we in the U.S. are by now familiar with claims of a left-wing “deep state,” it rings hollow coming from Netanyahu, who has been Israel’s prime minister since 2009, save for a one-year break. Prior to Netanyahu, Ariel Sharon was prime minister from 2001 to 2006 and Ehud Olmert from 2006 to 2009, both from Netanyahu's Likud Party. The last Labor prime minister was Ehud Barak — a former military chief of staff and the most decorated soldier in Israel’s history — who served from 1999 to 2001.

The entire Israel body politic moved to the right in the aftermath of the Second Intifada (2000 to 2005), and even more so in the aftermath of the Hamas massacres. The Israeli left certainly does not wield hidden power.

Fortunately, all of this doesn’t mean the country is ready to give up on democracy or give Netanyahu carte blanche — especially as he is the only key person in government or the security services who has failed to take any responsibility for Oct. 7. As I wrote almost a year ago, Netanyahu continues to believe he is the state.

A look at the most recent turmoil surrounding Netanyahu is in order.

In what is referred to as "Qatar-gate," two of Netanyahu’s key aides, Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, are accused of taking money from Qatar to provide public relations work for the Gulf emirate — while working for Netanyahu during the Gaza war. Feldstein is already under indictment for leaking stolen classified documents related to the war.

Lurking behind “Qatargate” is that Netanyahu encouraged Qatar to fund Hamas with hundreds of millions of dollars, until Oct. 7, as a way to weaken the rival Palestinian Authority and thus keep Palestinians divided. There are also allegations that Netanyahu personally pocketed Qatari money. A recent Israeli television Chanel 13 report indicates that many more Netanyahu staffers may also have been paid by Qatar.

A second major scandal involves his attempts to fire Shin Bet head Bar — a first for Israel. The ostensible reason was that he has "lost confidence” in Bar. Except for the rabid faithful, few in Israel believe Netanyahu’s claims. Most believe Bar was fired because of the Shin Bet investigation into Qatar-gate, and because Shin Bet’s investigative report on its failures leading up to Oct. 7 also puts blame on Netanyahu for his Hamas-Qatar policy.

Third, Netanyahu has come under fire for trying to fire Israel's attorney general: The position of attorney general in Israel is not the same as in the U.S. The Israeli attorney general is appointed by a five-member public commission for a six-year term. The attorney general is legal counsel to the government, head of the public prosecution system, represents the state in all legal proceedings and, critically, and represents the public interest in all legal matters. It is a prestigious position. Six of the previous 14 attorneys general later became Israeli Supreme Court justices.

In Netanyahu’s eyes, the crime of the current attorney general — Gali Baharav-Miara, the first woman to serve in that position — is that she took “representing the public interest” seriously and often told the government that it was acting unlawfully. On March 23, the Israeli cabinet took the first step in firing Baharav-Miara.

Then there is Netanyahu's attempted judicial coup. From Jan. 3 until Oct. 6, 2023, Israel was facing unprecedented internal strife over his attempt to place the government in charge of all judicial appointments, limit the power of review by the Israeli Supreme Court. In Israeli’s parliamentary system, this would have granted immense power to Netanyahu, in effect subordinating all three branches to the prime minister.

Recent polling in Israel shows 63 percent fear for democracy and that only 17 percent have faith in the Netanyahu government. Will poll numbers like that, expect Netanyahu to go lower and lower.

Jonathan D. Strum is an international lawyer and businessman based in Washington and the Middle East. From 1991 to 2005, he was an adjunct professor of Israeli law at Georgetown University Law Center. From 2015 to 2020, he was general counsel to a graduate school focused on national security in Washington.