End of the road for Netanyahu – the man they call ‘the magician’ has run out of tricks
Benjamin Netanyahu, the ever-present figure in Israeli politics for three decades is down and out.
“Bibi”, to give him his near-universal nickname, has been written off so many times, but now, the man they call “the magician” has run out of tricks and run out of road.
After four elections in just two years, 24 months of political stagnation, a new dawn has broken for Israeli politics. It heralds the beginning for a remarkable coalition and the end for an extraordinary political operator.
Anshel Pfeffer, Netanyahu’s biographer, said Netanyahu ‘was Trump before Trump’
Trump before Trump
Benjamin Netanyahu has been Israel‘s prime minister for the last 12 years: the longest serving leader in the country’s history. That wasn’t the start though. He was also prime minister between 1996 and 1999. In opposition before then and between those two stints, he was in the wings, plotting and driving his form of populist nationalist politics.
Bibi, the secular Jewish populist, cast himself as the defender of the nation against Iran, the defender of the Jewish State against the Palestinians, and most recently, as the saviour of the nation against coronavirus.
He is a politician who was channelling Trump while the former American president was still building casinos.
“He was Trump before Trump,” Netanyahu’s unofficial biographer, Anshel Pfeffer told me.
“He is a constant campaigner, he’s basically running for re-election the whole time. He doesn’t take a break between elections. So many of the populist politicians we talk about today – Orban in Hungary, Boris Johnson; Netanyahu was doing a lot of what they are doing now long before they were on the scene.
“Probably the only politician who was doing this in the television era before Netanyahu is Silvio Berlusconi in Italy,” Pfeffer said.
A survivor not a winner
Curiously Netanyahu was never actually a landslide politician. While often compared, as a savvy political operator, to Blair or Clinton, he only ever scraped in, but he did it consistently and that’s what mattered.
Israel is a country that functions on coalitions and Bibi was always the man who managed to form them. Critics, though, say he did it through exploitation rather than consensus.
Ehud Olmert was Netanyahu’s predecessor as prime minister. The two men were once in the same party, Likud. But as it tacked to the right, Olmert remained a centrist.
Mr Olmert told Sky News: “We never we were never friends. I never liked him. I never felt close to him. I never felt that he is a genuine human being [but] I thought it was a highly talented performer, the greatest that I’ve met in modern politics… He’s a genius. I mean, there there will be no one that can compete with him in on television. Laurence Olivier?”
He continued: “He’s a great performer, but when you look at the substance of things, the divisions within the Israeli society today are greater than ever before.”
Ehud Olmert, Netanyahu’s predecessor as prime minister, said ‘we were never friends’ but Netanyahu is ‘a genius’
Pfeffer agreed: “Netanyahu is the most divisive prime minister in history, he has exploited every divide in Israeli society between Jews and Arabs, religious and secular, left and right.
“All these all these divides have been exploited and the communities have been played off against each other to keep him in power. That’s something that Israeli society will be paying the price for for years to come.”
Danny Danon has been a close confidant of Netanyahu for decades. He is a former Likud party politician and a nationalist who doesn’t believe in a two-state solution with the Palestinians. Until last year he was Netanyahu’s ambassador to the United Nations.
He told Sky News: “Many Israelis were born knowing only Netanyahu as the prime minister of Israel.
“He is one of the greatest leaders in Israel’s history and his dedication to our security, I think that the most important thing in his legacy.”
Under Netanyahu, Israel enjoyed the longest period of economic growth in its history; an achievement only damaged by the coronavirus pandemic which ‘the magician’ managed still to turn to his advantage. From the beginning he was the consummate communicator.
Describing his early political years, Pfeffer, author of Bibi: The Turbulent Life & Times of Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “He had literally sat at home over weekends with a rented video camera and trained himself how to do sound bites, how to do have strong, strong interviews on television.
“And when he came along in the late 1980s, he literally blew everyone away and he’s kept that advantage ever since.”
The lights have gone out on Netanyahu’s tenure as Israel’s prime minister
Bibi the peacemaker?
Despite his persona as a tough-man, the former captain in the Israeli special forces actually presided over a period of relative calm, in Israeli terms.
He has been risk-averse while building up the nation’s defences and moulding a stalemate with the Palestinians precisely because it played to his advantage.
Pfeffer said: “He has this warmongering image which he which he builds up himself, but he never pushed the button and he never launched the big attack on Iran… He didn’t launch another war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, as his predecessors did. So all these things have been talked about, but never actually happened. He’s been risk averse and that is to his credit.”
But it was all to the detriment of the Palestinian people. Netanyahu’s politics, combined with splits and failures in the Palestinians’ own leadership, have stalled the peace process.
Olmert believes the impact of this failure on the reputation of the Jewish State is huge: “The lack of political solution for the Palestinian issue is the greatest threat to the status of the State of Israel. We need to separate from the Palestinians. We need to end the occupation. We can’t be seen in the international community as occupiers because this will destroy the image of Israel, the status of Israel.”
The latest round of fighting in Gaza hinted at a consequence of the stalemate. The Palestinian cause seemed more united than ever before, but it was a street-level unity. The politicians on all sides remain intransigent.
Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi said Netanyahu’s legacy was ‘one of the most, if not the most destructive legacy for Israel, for the whole region’
Hanan Ashrawi, a central figure over decades in the quest for Palestinian statehood has a scathing assessment of Netanyahu’s legacy.
She told Sky News: “I think Netanyahu’s legacy has been one of the most, if not the most destructive legacy for Israel, for the whole region, and I think in many ways, by legitimising fascism and violence and manipulation and control as well as corruption, he has created a situation where the chances of peace have become all that more difficult, if not impossible.”
Confronting Iran
After 12 years in power, Netanyahu as been central in reminding western nations of what he sees as the malign behaviour of Iran. Yet in that time, Iran has come closer and closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon. Mr Danon doesn’t see this as a failure.
He told me: “I think the fact that he put Iran on the spotlight in the last decade and everybody today sees the real threat coming from Tehran… maybe some people see different ways to deal with the threat, but he exposed it and he mobilised our intelligence agencies to bring information. And today the Iranians cannot work quietly, continue with their ideas. All the spotlights on them.”
The last few years of his premiership have been dominated by his corruption trial – three cases of fraud, bribery and breach of trust. The trial is ongoing.
Netanyahu is said to have used Trump-style tactics long before the former US president came to power
The legacy?
Netanyahu presided over a prolonged period of peace within Israel, but even that was in doubt with recent sectarian violence between Arabs and Jews which he did nothing to calm.
He signed unprecedented and laudable diplomatic normalisation deals with Gulf Arab nations, but on that core issue which defines the land he’s ruled for so long, the Israel-Palestinian conflict, something which many Israelis seem oddly oblivious to, there are no solutions.
Netanyahu failed to bring about a lasting peace and chose instead the status quo which works for Israelis but does not for the Palestinians.
In his final interview before he died in 2016, former Israeli president and prime minister Shimon Peres was asked if he still thought there was a chance for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
He said: “I don’t think there [is] another alternative. Neither for the Palestinians, nor for us. The only alternative is an ongoing war. But contrary to what people think, in war there are no victories, only victims. No war is ever finished unless its being replaced by peace.”
Netanyahu and his supporters will claim he achieved many victories. But he did not replace war with peace.
World
Kamala Harris tells Donald Trump ‘Putin would eat you for lunch’ as presidential candidates clash in TV debate
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have clashed over issues including abortion, the economy and illegal immigration in their first – and possibly only – debate before the US election.
Ms Harris’s attacks appeared to get under her rival’s skin at times, claiming people left his rallies out of “boredom” and Russian President Vladimir Putin “would eat him for lunch”.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump frequently resorted to accusing her of allowing massive illegal immigration, as well as being a dangerous “Marxist” and the worst vice president ever.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Harris walks to Trump for handshake
Trump v Harris debate live: Pivotal night in US election
The debate in Philadelphia began with Ms Harris approaching Mr Trump for a handshake – an awkward pleasantry in the 100-minute face-off.
Ms Harris addressed voters directly into the camera several times as she made promises including cutting the cost of living and restoring abortion rights.
The ex-president, however, focussed on the two moderators throughout as the debate took place without a live studio audience.
In the opening duels, Mr Trump claimed Ms Harris had no plan for the economy and – as part of the Biden administration – had presided over high inflation and a flood of illegal immigrants taking jobs.
The vice president, in turn, accused the Republican of planning “a tax cut for billionaires and big corporations”.
During one of Mr Trump’s frequent references to a “dangerous” immigrant influx, he made a bizarre claim there were cases of them eating people’s pets.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said.
The debate moderator interjected to clarify that officials in Springfield, Ohio, had reported no credible reports of such incidents.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump called out over ‘abortion lies’
Abortion rights were another key moment of the evening.
Ms Harris hit out at “Trump abortion bans” and said it was “unconscionable” that government should dictate what women do with their bodies.
During his presidency, Mr Trump installed three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.
The 78-year-old defended the move, saying the issue had been “tearing the country apart” and that he had led on IVF rights.
“Each individual state is voting. It’s the vote of the people now. It’s not tied up in the federal government. I did a great service in doing it,” said Mr Trump.
Ms Harris put in an assured performance in the much-anticipated head to head
Ms Harris said his claim her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, supported abortion in the ninth month was a “bunch of lies” as she painted a sobering picture of what some women now go through.
“Now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide health care,” she said.
“In one state it provides prison for life. Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest.”
‘Love letters to Kim Jong-un’
The former president, who’s looking to return to the White House despite his numerous legal troubles, looked rattled early on when Kamala Harris claimed people left his rallies “out of exhaustion and boredom”.
Mr Trump hit back that his events were “the most incredible rallies in the history of politics” and said Ms Harris was “bussing” people to her events and “paying them”.
Among other subjects, the two nominees were questioned on Ukraine, Gaza and Afghanistan.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky correspondent challenges Trump over dogs claim
Mr Trump suggested a win for the Democrats would end up with World War 3 and painted Ms Harris as a “horrible negotiator” who wouldn’t be able to stand up for America.
She hit back that Putin “would eat you for lunch”, claiming he “exchanged love letters” with Kim Jong-un and “admires dictators”.
Ms Harris said America’s top military commanders viewed him as a liability who is easily manipulated.
“It is absolutely well known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again, because they’re so clear they can manipulate you with flattery and favours,” said Ms Harris.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How the US election works in 2 mins
Mr Trump repeated his belief the Ukraine invasion wouldn’t have happened if he were in charge and claimed he would end it within days if he wins the election.
On Gaza, Ms Harris insisted Israel had a right to defend itself but that a ceasefire and a path towards a two-state solution was vital. Mr Trump claimed she “hated” Israel and had refused to meet President Netanyahu.
‘Not even close’
Ms Harris’s performance was praised by the man who she replaced as a candidate following his own debate debacle.
Joe Biden posted on X that the debate “wasn’t even close” – but the 59-year-old told supporters afterwards there remained “a lot of work to do”.
Read more:
Ultimate guide to the election
Three key challenges for Trump in US election
‘Comrade Kamala’ – Harris’s key challenges
Mr Trump called it his “best debate ever” and claimed his opponent “lost” as he made a rare move of entering the spin room to defend his performance.
There are so far no plans for a second debate – with the ex-president telling reporters he would “have to think about it”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Putin reveals pick for US president
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Before Tuesday night, a summary of opinion polls by FiveThirtyEight put Ms Harris just ahead at 47.2% to 44.4% – it remains to be seen if the TV showdown will significantly shift those numbers.
There was also a boost post-debate for the Democrat hopeful when Taylor Swift posted on Instagram to say she backed Ms Harris.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” she wrote.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
President Joe Biden is “not ruling out” allowing Ukraine to fire missiles deep into Russian territory, the US secretary of state has told Sky News.
Antony Blinken made the comment after he told a news conference in London that Iran has provided Moscow with short-range missiles and Vladimir Putin will “likely use them within weeks in Ukraine”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been calling on the US and other Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit targets in Russia to intensify pressure on Moscow to end the war.
In a sit-down interview with Yalda Hakim for her Sky News show The World, Mr Blinken was asked whether the US president might consider allowing such a move as the conflict rages on.
Mr Blinken said the US has made sure Ukraine has had “what it needed, when it needed it, to be effective in repelling the Russian aggression” since Moscow’s forces invaded in February 2022.
But he added that Washington has also had to consider other factors, such as whether Ukraine’s forces can use the “sophisticated systems” Western allies are providing and whether they can maintain them.
He continued: “All of those things have to go into these decisions. But what I can tell you is we’ve adapted and adjusted every step along the way and we’ll continue – so not ruling out at this stage.
“We don’t. We never rule out. But when we rule in, we want to make sure it’s done in such a way that it can advance what the Ukrainians are trying to achieve.”
The US provided Ukraine with a small number of ATACMS last year. File pic
Mr Blinken had earlier told a news conference that “dozens of Russian military personnel” have been trained to use Iran’s Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles.
He added: “Russia has an array of its own ballistic missile system, but the supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”
The US delivered a small number of ATACMs (Army Tactical Missile Systems) to Ukraine in September last year.
The long-range missiles have a range of about 180 miles.
Mr Blinken gave the news conference in London hours after Ukraine launched a major drone attack targeting several regions across Russia.
Read more:
Analysis: Russia’s links with Iran are growing stronger
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Drones hit buildings Moscow
US to target Iran’s economy
In his interview, the US secretary of state was also asked about America’s decision to announce further sanctions against Iran and whether they will be effective.
He replied: “We’ve been clear with the Iranians as we saw this brewing that this would have consequences if they went ahead and did it.
“There will be consequences… This is at a time when we know from the new Iranian president that they desperately need and want some economic relief, that there’s a very heavy burden on the country, and that they’re looking for that.
“(Supplying Russia with missiles) is exactly the opposite way to get what they purport to want.”
Flames are seen from an apartment block in Ramenskoye, Moscow, after a Ukrainian drone attack. Pic: Reuters
Blinken says Gaza ceasefire is not guaranteed
Mr Blinken was also asked whether the US is any closer to helping Israel and Hamas to agree a ceasefire to end the nearly year-long war in Gaza.
The US secretary of state said: “In terms of what’s on paper right now, more than 90% of it has been agreed… but almost by definition, the closer you get to the finish line, the harder it gets, because the toughest things usually remain until the end.”
He added: “The challenge, of course, is with every passing day, there’s the risk of an intervening event that sets you back and makes things more difficult.
“But I’m convinced, based on what’s on paper, what’s already been agreed, that we’re close, but does that mean that we’ll get there? No, because there remain hard issues.”
World
Dominique Pelicot: French man accused of inviting dozens of men to rape his wife taken to hospital on day he was to give evidence
A man accused of inviting at least 50 other men to rape his wife has been taken to hospital on the day he was due to give evidence.
Dominique Pelicot is alleged to have recruited the men on a chat room called “without her knowing” in a case that has shocked France.
The 71-year-old is being tried in the southern French city of Avignon, along with 50 other men on charges of aggravated rape.
His defence lawyer Beatrice Zavarro said her client “is not trying to shirk his responsibility, he will not shirk his responsibility”.
Sources told Sky News the judge ordered the defendant to undergo medical checks in hospital after complaining of stomach pain.
A decision is expected to be made later in the day as to when Dominique Pelicot will testify, and what potential delays this may impose on the trial.
Ms Zavarro added that her client started to show symptoms of what could be a bladder infection or colic on Friday.
Meanwhile, his now ex-wife Gisele Pelicot was seen outside the court on Tuesday, along with his daughter who has also been attending the trial.
A view shows the courthouse of Avignon, where the trial of Dominique P and other co-accused is taking place. Pic: Reuters
Last Thursday, Ms Pelicot testified that her world collapsed when police uncovered the years of alleged abuse.
Speaking of the moment she discovered her former spouse had allegedly filmed the suspected attacks by dozens of men, she said: “For me, everything collapses. These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports5 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports11 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company