Clouds are gathering over Benjamin Netanyahu’s head, but he hopes to “be

The favorite of the race, as always, is Benjamin Netanyahu, but not at all unconditionally.

The prime minister who heads “Likud” is harassed by other parties: “Yashar”, “Yes Atid”, “Benet”, “Israel Beitenu”. In addition, A significant part of the country’s population is tired of the “irreplaceable”, especially since its administration has gone through almost continuous wars and crises. to the landscape. According to many forecasts, no movement will gather the 61 votes needed to form a majority in the parliament. However, the situation can completely change.

… On the eve of another anniversary of the tragedy of October 7, 2023, state flags were lowered in Israel. On Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl and elsewhere in the country, citizens mourned the dead and shuddered to hear heart-wrenching accounts of the horrific day when Hamas militants invaded the Jewish state and began a massacre that left 1,200 dead and more than 250 hostages.

Mourning ceremonies were also held on the day of the tragedy, and it was remembered with pain in the following days as well. Probably, the black mourning will become the background against which the expression of will of the citizens of the republic will take place. Yohan Plesner, a former member of the Knesset, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, stated that the October tragedy “casts a long shadow over the upcoming elections in Israel.” He reminded that until now, no independent and authoritative report has been drawn up about what happened, and the most important task of the new government will be to eliminate that gap.

And before that? Israelis, with their characteristic passion, continue to argue about who is the main culprit of the tragedy. And they point to Netanyahu more and more often.

If at first it was considered that the attack of the militants was sudden and some miscalculations were made by the intelligence, now it is directly stated that the Prime Minister was aware of the plans of Hamas, but did not make decisive conclusions. More and more facts testify to this. One of them presented Haaretz the newspaper. “A few days before the attack by Hamas, the President of the UAE, Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, warned Netanyahu about the threat. But he either didn’t believe, or he didn’t imagine the extent of the coming calamity, confidently declaring that Israel is ready for any development of events.”

Moreover, the Prime Minister did not inform his supporters about the content of the conversation with the UAE leader. The heads of intelligence and the military were also not aware of the situation. But now Netanyahu denies everything and is suing Haaretz.

He did not initiate legal proceedings with another American newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, although that newspaper reported on a similar warning to Netanyahu by the head of Egypt’s general intelligence, Abbas Kamil. He had ignored them too. However new revelations can finally discredit the politician. But at the same time, many remind that he is known for his ingenuity and ability to deftly escape from the most complex traps.

And if that fails, Netanyahu may face a path to the abyss. he will be deprived of immunity, court cases related to corruption will be resumed against him, which do not bode well for him. Besides, his many enemies will certainly want to get revenge on him.

But this is a sad future that Netanyahu does not want to face. Of course, he has a plan that he would like to implement if he realizes that the elections promise him destruction.

The prime minister has already stated several times that the enemies are going to attack Israel. Later, a well-known incident took place with Flydubai flight FZ 1073, which the Israeli authorities described as an attempt of “jihadi terrorism”. The Omani co-pilot was preparing to direct the plane with passengers to the terminal building of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. It could provoke a new big war in the Middle East. Fortunately, the terrible plan did not materialize. But if it succeeded, the elections threatening Netanyahu would be annulled. It sounds sacrilegious, but it would be to his advantage…

Now the Prime Minister spoke about the danger from Hamas. According to Netanyahu, he has information that the radical organization is planning to repeat the massacre of October 7, 2023 by attacking Israel in order to disrupt the elections.

If that happens, everyone will remember Netanyahu’s warning. He will come out of his skin to show himself as a hero in the battle against the enemy. Well, the elections will turn from an urgent event into an absolutely irrelevant procedure. Again in favor of Netanyahu…

But for now the clouds hang over his head. And Uri Geller, the world-famous magician and psychologist, has undertaken the task of dispelling them. A few months ago, he announced that he shared his phenomenal abilities with Donald Trump and Netanyahu. However, so far there is no evidence that the magician’s clients have started working miracles in politics. Rather, the opposite.

However, Geller is not worried about that. In an interview with Israeli TV channel 14, he played his usual role as a soothsayer and announced Netanyahu’s imminent victory in the elections.

“Bibi is a genius, and not because he is my friend. He is my friend. He’s more of a wizard than I am.’ The psychic described Netanyahu as “strong”, “courageous”, “devoted” to his work and admitted that he felt a special, almost magical aura around him. And he even called him the “Israeli Churchill” for his enormous success. Only it is not known where he got them from. Geller listed Netanyahu’s merits, which are also legendary in many ways, and exonerated him on all matters of state, including the events of October 7; “Nevertheless, the entire responsibility for the disaster, for some reason, is on Bibi.”

It is difficult to say how the magician’s magic will affect the voters, but it is unlikely that he alone will be able to pull Netanyahu out of the “swamp” of many accusations. But others can help him, in particular, competitors. This will happen if they fail to form a coalition capable of overthrowing Likud.

The reason is simple. not only Netanyahu, but also other Israeli politicians are treated with prejudice by the voters. They will have to solve a paradoxical dilemma: to find the best among the worst.

By the way, Netanyahu’s rivals must first solve the main problem: enter the Knesset. But it will not be easy to do. many Israelis may not want to exchange Netanyahu’s “biz” with the “soap” of his rivals. After all, regardless of the outcome of the elections, the new government will painfully search for a way out of the long “tunnel” of problems.

VALERIE BRUT

fondsk.ru

Translation by Zhanna Avetisyan

—