Netanyahu is using the war on Gaza to consolidate power

Israel is now in the throes of an internal social and political crisis. Prime Minister Netanyahu is at its center, and he is concentrating power in the hands of his supporters to come out on top. But the most important part of his strategy is his escalating war on Gaza.

The two poles of the crisis represent those who support the continuation of the military assault on Gaza and those who no longer see any point in it. The latter camp demands that priority be given to bringing back the Israeli captives. The former, represented by Netanyahu, sees in the war a way of avoiding the crisis altogether and sidestepping its consequences. 

Under cover of war, Netanyahu has been replacing officials in key state positions with figures close to him, personally or ideologically. Paradoxically, this is also giving the opposition more reasons to mobilize against him, bringing the political crisis to a head.

The fracture in Israeli society

On Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu found himself in yet another political scandal, this time involving Qatar. The Israeli police summoned Netanyahu for investigation concerning accusations of independently hiring an aide with money provided by the Gulf state after the Israeli intelligence service refused to hire him. Netanyahu’s collaborator, Eli Feldstein, who had already been arrested for accusations of leaking documents to the media during the ceasefire talks, has now been accused of agency to a foreign government, bribery, and money laundering. Feldstein admitted that he received payments, but claimed that it was neither bribery nor foreign agency.

Netanyahu released a video statement following his investigation by the Israeli police, claiming that the investigation was “political” and motivated by opposition to his latest controversial decision — the dismissal of the head of internal intelligence, Ronen Bar. 

Bar’s replacement has become the most iconic example of the current Israeli crisis in recent weeks, especially since he is one of the most vocal proponents of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and releasing Israeli captives. His dismissal by Netanyahu was seen by his opponents as clear proof of Netanyahu’s attempt to consolidate his personal control over decision-making.

Ronen Bar had recently opened an investigation into what he called the “takeover by the Kahanist current” of the state’s institutions, referring to Netanyahu’s far-right allies, who had been pushing against the end of the war in Gaza. The Israeli supreme court froze Bar’s dismissal, rejecting Netanyahu’s reason for firing him — supposedly, a “lack of trust” — but Netanyahu proceeded with naming a new head of the intelligence service anyway. Bar’s would-be successor was a former commander of the Israeli marines, but Netanyahu revoked the nomination two hours after appointing him once it became known that the short-lived appointee had been an active participant in the recent anti-Netanyahu protests in Tel Aviv.

The controversy created around Bar’s replacement exposed the depth of the conflict at the heart of Israeli society. On one side are those who insist on safeguarding a foundational, if unwritten contract between the Israeli state and its citizens: citizens give two to three years of their lives over to the state in the form of military service, and the state commits to sending them home by the end of it — dead or alive. On the other side are Netanyahu’s supporters, who believe that Israel is fighting an “existential war” and must recover its capacity to achieve a clear and definitive victory over its enemies. This doesn’t only mean destroying Hamas, but “solving” the Gaza question entirely through the ethnic cleansing of its people. This “victory” has not been achieved yet, and therefore remains the first priority.

Opposition to this current has continued to grow in recent weeks. At the heart of the anti-Netanyahu protest movement are the families of Israeli captives in Gaza, who have continuously accused Netanyahu of giving up on them in order to please his far-right allies and save his cabinet.

The captives’ families and their supporters have been protesting by the thousands for weeks, demanding a prisoner exchange deal to release all prisoners, and rejecting the resumption of the war on Gaza. Joining the protests have been opposition leaders: former war cabinet member Benny Gantz and former co-Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who threatened in a speech in front of thousands of protesters in Tel Aviv two weeks ago to start a “tax strike” against Netanyahu’s government.

War is the answer

Any way you look at it, the Israeli social and political structure is facing an internal confrontation between two driving forces: a religious ultra-nationalist right that wants to escalate Israel’s colonialist character to its furthest limits, and a more “liberal” current that aims to separate Israel’s militaristic and colonial practice towards the Palestinian people from the internal stability and diversity of Israeli society. As has often been the case in Israel’s history, such crises have been contained through war itself.

Last week, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, announced that Israel would expand its ground assault on Gaza, pushing all possibilities for a ceasefire even further, and putting the war agenda at the top of the state’s priority list — even above Israel’s internal crisis. 

The panacea of war proved equally effective for Netanyahu’s attempts to escape yet another hearing for his corruption charges. Upon his request, the latest hearing was postponed last week due to “urgent security discussions” that made it impossible for him to attend. Another hearing on his corruption charges was suspended the week before as well, and on March 18, the Israeli public prosecutor had agreed to postpone his trial after he resumed the war on Gaza that same day.

Even when it came to holding back the formation of an independent investigation commission into Israel’s security failure on October 7, the war once again came to the rescue. Netanyahu had vocally opposed the calls of his opponents to form such a commission, claiming at the Knesset’s podium that the commission was “politicized” and aimed to bring down his right-wing government. 

Although the Israeli army has begun internal investigations, many Israelis demand an investigation independent of the army. In early March, the former chief of staff of the Israeli army, Herzl Halevi, said in his farewell speech at the inauguration of his successor, Eyal Zamir, that the army was subordinate to the government and hence could not investigate it. Instead, Halevi called for an independent investigation into all levels of leadership for the October 7 failure. Halevi had resigned from his position after heated disputes with Netanyahu, including over the October 7 investigation.

As the U.S. administration continues to grant Israel complete support in its war against the Palestinian people, Israeli leaders continue to use the opportunity not only to fulfill their fantasies of ethnically cleansing Gaza and annexing the West Bank, but also to delay the repercussions of their own internal differences. Meanwhile, Palestinians, especially Gazans, continue to pay the price of Israel’s “democracy” — with their land, their future, and their lives.