Are Netanyahu’s Days Numbered?

As you may or may not know dear reader, the government of Nicolas Maduro has sent tens of millions of dollars to Hamas in Gaza over the last half decade–tens of millions of dollars to support terrorists that could have been spent in Venezuela to help Venezuelans.

The News on the Israeli Street

Palestinian terror in the last 24 hours . . .

On the Gaza border:

A roadblock at Nir Am near the Gaza border this morning. The IDF has blocked numerous roads like this for fear of Hamas snipers. Can you imagine living in a situation in which you constantly have to worry about being shot by a sniper?

It has been yet another violent day on the Gaza border with an estimated 15,000 Hamas foot-soldiers attacking Israeli soldiers along the border fence with bombs, IEDs, grenades, Molotovs, and gunfire.

As of this moment, no Israelis have been physically wounded; on the other hand, an unknown number of terrorists have been stopped by rubber bullets and live fire.

In Judea and Samaria:

If you are a regular reader of israelstreet, you know that certain locations are places where terrorists carry out daily attacks against Israelis.

Some of those sites are Luban a-Sharqiya, Tekoa, Hizma, and Al-Khader.

In the case of Al-Khader which has been the location of dozens of terror attacks in the last two weeks, IDF troops finally responded yesterday by firing on “rock” and Molotov throwers. 

Where else were Israelis attacked yesterday? Genia, Tapuach,  Talmon, Tekoa, Beit Haggai, Mt. Hevron, Al-Aruv, Zeita, Efrat, Beit Anun to name a few.

And what absurd step did the government take yesterday? . . .

Believe it or not, in response to all the terrorism emanating from Judea and Samaria, the government decided to allow 7,850 more Palestinian “workers” into Israel.

7,850 more potential terrorists. 

Every time the government has brought more Palestinians into the country, more terrorism has ensued. Israelis are stabbed, shot, and run over. How long will it be until this happens again?

Not long according to the Palestinians . . . 

Yesterday, Palestinian groups in Judea and Samaria called for increased violence against Israeli men, women, and children calling them “Zionist thieves” who are perpetuating “crimes of occupation.”

If our government won’t do it . . .

 . . . at least the United States will. Yesterday, the Trump Administration confirmed that USAID has discontinued all financial assistance to the PLO. 

USAID had been ponying up $61,000,000 dollars a year to prop up the PLO. As of today, that will no longer happen.

TODAY’S BLOG:

Are Netanyahu’s Days Numbered?

Betting against PM Netanyahu is a little bit like betting against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. They all have been around for a long time, have weathered numerous adversities, and have usually emerged on top.

That being said, your humble servant suspects that Netanyahu’s days are numbered–and so are those of Likud as the ruling party unless a radical change takes place quickly.

Why?

First, Netanyahu is going to be indicted in at least one of the cases facing him (probably Case 4000) and that indictment will take place before the elections in April. Guilty or not (and your humble servant does not believe that he is), his indictment will be a stab in the heart of Likud.

Second, Netanyahu’s Likud party appears to be in disarray–despite the fact that it continues to lead in the polls. The problem for Likud is that Netanyahu has systematically squashed all opposition from within his own party over the years, effectively stopping any new blood from rising to the top. To put all of this in another way, the party is engaged in wholesale internal bickering–and looks old.

Third, Benny Gantz has quietly leaped onto the Israeli electoral stage like a fresh face. Despite the fact that he is an abominable leftist and a failed general, he is masterfully painting himself as a man of experience on the center-right. As such he is likely to be able to form a coalition with all of the other faux center parties. But the bottom line is that Gantz exudes a quiet confidence and is someone new–and Israelis are hungry for someone new.  

For these reasons and others, Benjamin Netanyahu may be in the twilight of his political career–but, as I said at the outset, I wouldn’t bet the house on it.