For more than a decade, there have been calls for Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to resign – and for no shortage of reasons: growing levels of inequality, Israel’s housing crisis, his penchant for ugly populism, multiple corruption scandals for which he is still on trial, and most recently, attempts at a judicial overhaul.
But after the 7 October attack on the country by Hamas, the future of Israel’s ultimate political survivor looks especially shaky, even in the midst of a new war in Gaza.
Netanyahu appeared alongside his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and Benny Gantz, an opposition leader now part of the emergency war cabinet, at their first press conference on Saturday night – a lacklustre affair during which he appeared unfocused, stumbled over the words of a prayer, and then left early after facing hostile questions from reporters.
He then took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, just after 1am to post a petulant message piling the blame for 7 October’s security and intelligence failures on the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
“Contrary to the lying claims: under no circumstances and at no stage was prime minister Netanyahu warned about Hamas’ intention to go to war,” it read.
“Every defence official, including the heads of military intelligence and the Shin Bet security service, believed Hamas was deterred and sought accommodations. This was the assessment that was presented time and time again to the prime minister and the cabinet by all defence officials and the intelligence community, up to the outbreak of war.”
This claim was not strictly true, and Netanyahu’s attempt to throw his generals under the bus was met with a furious public backlash. The next day, he – or someone in his office – deleted the tweet, and issued an apology for posting it, rather than for the content itself. It was not lost on anyone that the post was the only thing Netanyahu has apologised for in the three weeks since Israel woke up to its most serious crisis in 50 years.
Noam Tibon, a 62-year-old retired general who took up arms to rescue his son’s family from a kibbutz on 7 October, demanded Netanyahu resign, telling Israel’s Channel 12: “The people need to feel security … they need to be sure that we are going to be victorious. I don’t think he can lead us to victory.”
Yossi Cohen, a former Mossad chief seen as a Netanyahu ally, told a local radio station: “Responsibility comes when you begin the job, not during it.”
The left-leaning daily Haaretz, in a scathing piece published on Monday, said: “The two lowest points on the planet are in Israel: the Dead Sea and Benjamin Netanyahu’s demeanour. One is a natural wonder, the other a political blunder.” Members of his Likud party gave anonymous interviews in which they suggested that Netanyahu may finally be at the end of his political rope.
A lack of support for the approximately 120,000 people displaced by the war and perceived indifference towards the families of the estimated 240 hostages seized by Hamas have also fed Israeli public anger.
Saturday’s press conference was called to address Netanyahu’s plummeting poll numbers; his performance and the outcry over the late-night tweet have probably accelerated rather than alleviated the steep downward trajectory.
Seventy-six percent of the Israeli public is dissatisfied with the government’s performance in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack, according to a poll conducted by Reichman University’s Institute for Liberty and Responsibility 10 days afterwards. Support for Netanyahu himself, which was already declining, has fallen to an overall grade of 3.9 out of 10.
While it is unlikely Netanyahu would ever step down willingly – on Monday, he dismissed a question about whether he would resign – and a general election is still three years away, it is possible a no-confidence vote from inside his government could oust him, paving the way for a more centrist coalition. Such a move would have profound implications on how Israel continues to wage its new war in Gaza, and scenario planning for what happens to the Gaza Strip the day after.
