For those unfamiliar with the intricate machinery of Israeli politics, the unanimous 110-0voteto dissolve the Knesset on May 20 appears to be an earth-shattering event. On the surface, it looks as if the days of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of far-right extremists are numbered. The reality, however, is far more complex.
Israel’s current political implosion is fundamentally tied to its failure to escape the ghosts of October 7. When the country’s military defensescollapsedon that day, Israel was transformed from a state with a formidable reputation as an invincible regional superpower into one trapped with a struggling army, structurally incapable of decisively winning a single war.
Since the launch of the devastatinggenocidein Gaza, neither the Israeli government nor the military establishment has been able to answer two fundamental questions:
One, how did the world’s self-proclaimed “invincible army” collapse in a matter of hours,leavingthe entire Southern Command – whose sole job was to keep Gazans besieged – in total shambles?
Two, why has that same heavily funded military machine failed to achieve a decisive victory despite the near-total destruction of the Strip and the unprecedented slaughter and wounding of much of its population?
Complicating the matter is Benjamin Netanyahu’s pathologicalrefusalto honestly investigate either the October 7 intelligence failure or the subsequent conduct of the Gaza war. Instead, he focused entirely on domestic damage control and image management, aggressively marginalizing or firing intelligence official, or high-ranking bureaucrats who challenged his narrative. Rather than pursuing a viable exit strategy, Netanyahu treated the defense apparatus as a public relations shield.
Consequently, opposition voices – initially led by Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party – begandemandingNetanyahu’s resignation and snap elections. What began as predictable political fallout quickly evolved into a sweeping popular movement.
Public confidence in the government continues to plummet. Recent opinion polls consistently show that a vast majority of IsraelisbelieveNetanyahu acts out of personal political survival rather than national interest. Data suggests that if elections were held today, his right-wing bloc wouldsuffera catastrophic defeat at the hands of a newly consolidated opposition – namely Beyachad (‘Together’), the newly formed unified list established by Naftali Bennett and Lapid.
Netanyahu, whose legacy as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister is now defined by strategic failure, subsists in a profound personal and political crisis. His deliberate escalations of regional conflict served no distinct military purpose; instead, they merely highlighted his desperation, turning his rhetorical pledges of “total victory” into a hollow attempt to prevent his coalition from fracturing.
Meanwhile, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich exploited Netanyahu’s vulnerability to advance their own extremist agendas. Bent on rapid colonial expansion, theyacceleratedWest Bank annexation,pusheddraconian laws to execute Palestinian prisoners, and tightened the siege on occupied East Jerusalem.
Source: Antiwar.com
