Gaza war: truce plan leaves Israel’s Netanyahu fighting for ‘political survival’
- Far-right coalition partners threatened to quit over a deal outlined by the US, leaving Netanyahu at the mercy of centrist parties looking to remove him from office
- But analysts said that in a society still traumatised by the October 7 attack, it is too soon to entirely write off the veteran political survivor
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under huge international pressure to move ahead with a ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza, but opposition within his hard-right coalition means it might come at a political price.
Far-right coalition partners have threatened to quit over the outline deal presented by US President Joe Biden on Friday, potentially leaving Netanyahu at the mercy of centrist parties that are likely to seize the first opportunity to remove him from office.
But analysts said that in a society still traumatised by the October 7 attack, it is too soon to entirely write off the veteran political survivor.
Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday to demand Netanyahu agree to a deal to free hostages held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Protests calling for the release of hostages have taken place every weekend for months, but Saturday’s were different after Biden outlined what he said was an Israeli plan to free them and pause the fighting.
But Netanyahu quickly dampened hopes by saying that his conditions for a ceasefire had not changed and included the “elimination” of Hamas.