“There will be no civil war” in Israel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on June 18. But he might be wrong.
Netanyahu’s statement was made in the context of the growing popular protests in Israel, especially following the long-anticipated resignations of several Israeli War Cabinet Ministers, including Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot – both former chiefs of staff in the Israeli army.
These resignations did not necessarily isolate Netanyahu, as the man’s popularity rests almost entirely on the support of the right and the far right. However, the move further illustrated deep and growing rifts in Israeli society, which could ultimately take the country from a state of political upheaval to an actual state of civil war.
Divisions in Israel cannot be viewed the same way as other political polarizations currently rife among Western democracies. This assertion is not necessarily linked to the legitimate view that, at its core, Israel is not an actual democracy but, rather, due to the fact that Israel’s political formation is unique.
The story began long before the current Gaza war.
In February 2019, the leaders of three Israeli parties formed a coalition, Kahol Lavan, or ‘Blue and White’. Two of Kahol Lavan’s founders, Gantz and Moshe Ya’alon, were also military men, widely respected among the country’s powerful military establishment, thus society at large. Despite their relative electoral successes, they still failed to dislodge Netanyahu from office. So, they went to the streets.
Taking the conflict to the streets of Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities was a decision not made lightly. It followed the collapse of a strange government coalition, cobbled up by all of Netanyahu’s enemies, unified around the single objective of ending the right and far-right reign over the country. Naftali Bennet’s failure was simply the last straw.
The terms ‘right’ and ‘far-right’ may give the impression that the political conflict in Israel is essentially ideological. Though ideology does play a role in Israeli politics, anger at Netanyahu and his allies is largely motivated by the feeling that the new right in Israel is attempting to reconfigure the very political nature of the country.
So, starting in January 2023, hundreds of thousands of Israelis launched unprecedented mass protests that lasted until the start of the Israeli war on Gaza. The initial collective demand of the protesters, supported by Gantz and the who’s who of the Israeli military and liberal elites, was to prevent Netanyahu from altering the political balances of power that have governed Israeli society for the last 75 years. With time, the demands, however, turned into the collective chant of regime change.
🔗SOURCE ➡️ Antiwar.com
Related: 6/6 - Was October 7th Allowed to Happen To Further The Greater Israel Agenda? Did The Hannibal Directive Ever End? [X] — Part 4 of TheMcgwire's Oct 7th Series
As mentioned earlier in the series, the majority of Israelis were concerned about civil war before Oct 7th, as Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul splintered Israeli political society. Many point to the tense political situation in Israel prior to Oct 7th as potentially playing into Netanyahu’s motives to ignore intelligence indicating an attack.
...In July, The Cradle reported, “Over Half of Israelis Worry About Possible Civil War: Poll” - 2 and a half months before October 7th.
...Before Oct 7th, Netanyahu was scared to allow / disallowed the defense minister, Gallant, to meet with US officials without him being present, the majority of Israelis were afraid of civil war, and Israeli citizens were leaving or looking to leave the country in “unprecedented” numbers.
Follow us on Minds / X / Substack
Follow ➡️ @PsyopDaily