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Netanyahu struggles to find his way back to power in Israel

During a trip to Israel last month, a group of US lawmakers met new prime minister Naftali Bennett and drove to Ramallah to meet the Palestinian prime minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh.

But one person they found no time for was Benjamin Netanyahu, once Israel’s most important man, and the culmination of a visiting delegation’s journey.

Discontent has raged at home, and Netanyahu’s allies in his party, Likud, complain that the leader of the opposition is being pushed aside. The US delegation never asked to meet with him, replied foreign minister and alternate prime minister Yair Lapid, the architect of the unlikely eight-party coalition that replaced Mr. Netanyahu’s government with a one-seat majority. .

Netanyahu, five-time prime minister and occasional leader of the opposition, announced on the day he was ousted in mid-June that his exile from power would be short. However, six months later, the man known as Houdini of Israeli politics is struggling to find a way back to power. His leadership of Likud faces a challenge, as criminal prosecution for alleged corruption has robbed him of his energy and blocked his way back to the head of the right-wing camp.

Dahlia Scheindlin, a political consultant and pollster who has worked on several Israeli elections, said: “As the trial continues, we are seeing the prominence of he in the national discourse is slowly eroded.

“We don’t see any real weakening in his support base, but he has yet to mark a return – rather, the country is witnessing day by day that the country could function without him.”

Bennett and his allies have lasted longer than many anticipated and have succeeded in going over the budget, the country’s first in more than three years, while Netanyahu, who abided by parliamentary procedures, has voted himself at least once – voting the wrong way after a grueling debate.

Netanyahu’s next big opportunity to weaken the coalition will come in late 2023, when Bennett is asked to hand over power to Lapid in the rotating prime ministership they agreed to when ousting Netanyahu.

However, those close to him say that this is temporary setbacks for Israel’s longest serving prime minister, a man who has returned from political exile in the past to return to the position of prime minister.

A person close to him said: “Netanyahu is not an astrologer, making predictions about when the right will really turn back to put Israel on the right track,” said a person close to him. The former prime minister’s status in recent interactions has been relaxed and upbeat. “The witch hunt will be over soon – people have seen how there is no evidence at all, only accusations.”

The “witch hunt” is how Netanyahu painted his trial for corruption.

He vehemently denies charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in two overlapping cases in which prosecutors allege he gave favors to friends who invited him and his wife. with expensive cigars and champagne, and a third case in which they allege he made a promise to a newspaper publisher. regulatory incentives in return for active coverage.

Frequently, the 72-year-old defendant, supported by a team of lawyers and most loyal supporters, drove from his posh home in Caesarea to the district court in East Jerusalem. These appearances are a glimpse into how much his circumstances have changed. Gone are the convoys that took him to meet foreign dignitaries. During his most recent appearance, perhaps two dozen of his supporters gathered, hurling abuse at journalists and prosecutors.

So far, testimony hasn’t gone very well – last week an aide of his, now a state witness, described him as a control maniac, demanding a change in the title and story. repeatedly, and aides destroy their phones as the investigation comes to light.

“Going to court is difficult for anyone, but in the case of Netanyahu it was especially difficult,” Nahum Barnea, one of Israel’s most famous political commentators, wrote in a newspaper sketch the next day. “The transition from a position of ‘all-powerful’ to a position of being controlled by others is evident in him – his face shows anger, contempt and contempt.”

The outcome of the trial could be explosive – the imprisonment of one of the most influential men in the Middle East. But with appeals expected to go to the Supreme Court, analysts say a final verdict in the trial is years away. However, Netanyahu finds that he has little room to take further action in his political career and even faces a challenge from within Likud.

Yuli Edelstein, his longtime ally and most recently health minister in a blitzkrieg shot that nearly made Netanyahu the sixth prime minister, is challenging him for the leadership of the Likud party. He has little ideological difference with his one-time mentor. But he said that until the trial is resolved, Netanyahu will not be able to secure enough support to head a coalition.

“There have been great prime ministers around the world – Churchill for example – who have hit a wall. It’s like in boxing, you have to know when the undefeated leaves the ring,” Edelstein said.

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