Netanyahu's single-mindedness is pushing himself into a corner. On June 16, Allah again destroyed several military installations in northern Israel using anti-tank missiles, suicide drones and rocket artillery, The Paper reported. According to the Israeli military, Allah has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel since the 12th, and the military pressure on the Israeli army's northern front has increased sharply.
Allah rocket attacks
In addition to external pressures, Israel is undergoing tremendous internal changes. Recently, there have been massive demonstrations in the Israeli capital almost every day, calling for an immediate ceasefire agreement and demanding Netanyahu's resignation. In addition, the collapse of Israel's wartime cabinet also indicates that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will usher in a new turning point.
Since last October, when Hamas launched a raid on Israel, code-named Al-Aqsa floods, the Israeli government has led military operations in Gaza with a wartime cabinet. In this wartime cabinet, in addition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there are also Gantz, the leader of Israel's largest opposition party, and the current defense minister, Gallant. Originally, the purpose of forming a wartime cabinet was to show the outside world that "fighting Hamas" was an all-party consensus in Israel, so as to reflect the high degree of unity in Israel, but this "unity" lasted less than a year before it was shattered by Gantz's voluntary withdrawal.
Gantz
According to the "Global Times", citing a number of foreign media, because Gantz had announced his withdrawal from the wartime cabinet on the 9th of this month, and Netanyahu did not want to introduce far-right politicians to fill the vacancy, after more than a week of silence, Netanyahu finally announced the dissolution of the wartime cabinet on the 17th. While the apparent unity has been shattered as a result, it has also brought more benefits to Netanyahu. The absence of a wartime cabinet means that Netanyahu does not need to be pinned down by Gantz. Unlike Netanyahu, Gantz is internationally recognized as a relatively pragmatic politician in Israeli politics who is more moderate than the far-right on the Palestinian issue.
So when the Israeli army began to retaliate against Hamas in Gaza, the contradictions between Gantz and Netanyahu inevitably erupted. Netanyahu still adheres to the logic of traditional far-right forces, believing that Hamas must be completely eradicated, and that it is not worth mentioning that civilians have been accidentally injured. But Gantz prefers to maintain Israel's international image while maintaining national security, and to seek a truly sustainable post-war governance solution in Gaza. As the conflict in Gaza drags on, Israel's international reputation has deteriorated, and the contradictions between Gantz and Netanyahu have become increasingly difficult to reconcile. Dismantling the wartime cabinet at this point in time is a "lifting of the seal" for Netanyahu.
Netanyahu
This means that Netania can discuss Gaza issues in a larger cabinet, while some of the most sensitive matters are met in small closed doors, making decisions more efficient while ensuring that the operational plan for Gaza is being implemented. However, the dissolution of the wartime cabinet is not good news for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Gantz's exit gives Netanyahu greater decision-making power. Even if early parliamentary elections are held, it will be difficult to shake the ruling coalition. In the future, Israel will be more assertive on the Gaza issue, and peace talks will become more difficult.
One of the key reasons why the current round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has lasted so long is that Netanyahu and Biden's interests have clashed directly. What Biden hopes is that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be resolved "quickly", even if there are a large number of innocent civilian casualties in the process, it is an acceptable result for the United States, because Biden must get rid of this burden as soon as possible and devote more energy to the US election campaign that has started ahead of schedule. But for Netanyahu, the opposite is true. The notoriously tough Israeli leader is under the same pressure of a lawsuit as Trump, and a prolonged conflict is the only way to keep Netanyahu's political life alive.
Biden
But the key point is that now the combat effectiveness of the Israeli army is questioned, and Netanyahu can only go all the way to the black, if he cannot finally achieve the political goals that Netanyahu wants through military means, he will also face the liquidation of all domestic forces. So now Netanyahu's situation is actually not optimistic.