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class="byline"><b>Friday, 10 January 2025, 9:43 am</b><br /> <b>Opinion: <a href="https://info.scoop.co.nz/Ramzy_Baroud">Ramzy Baroud</a></b></span> </div> <p> <p>Suddenly, Yoav Gallant, Israel's notorious Minister of Defense, disappeared into obscurity. The man who served in his country's military for about 35 years, in politics for nearly 10, and oversaw major wars, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza, quickly retreated from headlines and political significance.</p><p>In his resignation letter, Gallant accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallants-firing-isnt-the-end-of-netanyahus-campaign-against-his-ex-defense-minister/">fired</a> him on November 5, along with his replacement, Israel Katz, of endangering the country's security. However, he kept his criticism largely focused on the issue of military conscription for Israel's ultra-Orthodox community.</p><p>Gallant’s refusal to offer an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallant-resigns-from-knesset-denounces-imminent-bill-to-exempt-haredim-from-idf/">exemption</a> to Israel's Haredim had always been a source of tension between him and his domineering boss. Yet, the political weight of that issue seems to have been greatly inflated by all parties, each with a political purpose in mind.</p><p>Gallant wanted to signal to the more secular and nationalistic factions within the Likud party—the largest in Netanyahu's ruling coalition—that he advocated for a fairer and more equitable Israel. Netanyahu, who heads the Likud, wanted to appeal to the more religious segments of the party and to his deeply religious coalition partners.</p> <div class="article-left-box-wrapper"><div class="article-left-box"> <div class="headline-right"><div id="in-cont" style="background:white;"> <div id="txt1" style="text-align:left; font-size:14px; font-style: italic; color: grey; padding: 4px;">Advertisement - scroll to continue reading</div> <div style="min-height:250px;min-width: 300px;"><style> @media screen and (max-width: 768px) {.article-left-box {float: none; margin: 20px auto 20px auto; margin-left: calc( (100% - 300px) / 2 );}} @media screen and (max-width: 970px) {#article iframe { max-width: 100%;}} #article iframe { max-width: 100%;}</style>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1493962836337-4' style="padding: 0 20px 0 0; text-align: center;"> <script> googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1493962836337-4'); }); </script> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> <p>Considering Israel’s shift towards the extreme religious right, it was only natural for Netanyahu to ultimately win this round. Gallant, who as of January 1 had also resigned from the Israeli Knesset, made his <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/gallant-resigns-from-knesset-denounces-imminent-bill-to-exempt-haredim-from-idf/">resignation letter</a> largely about the Likud, and less about Israel itself.</p><p>“My path is the Likud path, and I believe in its principles, trust its members and voters," he said, linking his first vote for the party to a partnership in "Menachem Begin’s revolution," while priding himself on remaining "loyal to the movement’s national and ideological path."</p><p>Gallant’s sentiment could be understood in two ways: either as a way to seal his legacy before quitting politics altogether, or, more likely, as the charting of a new political discourse that would allow him to compete for the leadership of Likud—and perhaps even for the premiership.</p><p>Netanyahu understands this well and seems to have concluded that his only <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/netanyahu-middle-east-1.7366823">path to political survival</a> is the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/israel-will-continue-war-in-gaza-even-after-a-cease-fire-deal-netanyahu-says/ar-AA1wM7KC?ocid=BingNewsVerp">continuation</a> of the Gaza war and the expansion of the conflict to engage multiple parties. It is this expanded war that has allowed him to recover his pre-war approval ratings and keep his coalition partners satisfied.</p><p>The Israeli prime minister's strategy over the last 15 months of genocidal war has been consistent with his political legacy: achieving power and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/opinion-netanyahu-wants-to-return-israel-to-oct-6-and-his-judicial-coup/ar-AA1wnZo2?ocid=BingNewsSerp">holding onto it</a>. But the events that followed October 7, 2023, have made his chances of political survival much slimmer.</p><p>In the past, Netanyahu mastered the art of survival by exploiting his rivals' weaknesses, using his power to emotionally manipulate the Israeli public with a mix of nationalistic, religious, and personal discourse. This narrative often portrays Netanyahu and his family as victims of numerous enemies who have ceaselessly plotted his downfall, despite all the good he has done for the country.</p><p>"<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/Syu4PMFiU">Netanyahu's victim mentality</a>" has long been a topic in Israeli media, even years before the war. It is a strategy he has used to defend himself in court against accusations of corruption, and it <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g30271wxwo">continues to serve him</a> even during the war. Even the arrest warrants against him and his sacked defense minister, Gallant, by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on November 21, have been used to feed the narrative that Netanyahu is being punished for simply loving Israel too much.</p><p>However, when the war ends, merely playing the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-09-13/ty-article/.premium/as-israelis-pay-with-their-lives-the-netanyahus-play-the-perpetual-victim/00000191-eb7b-d073-a1f3-efff01860000">victim card</a> will no longer suffice. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to explain what transpired beginning on October 7: the collapse of the security apparatus, the failure of the military, the lack of strategy, the severely weakened economy, the splintering of the nation, the killing of hostages,e and much more.</p><p>Even Netanyahu, the master politician, will struggle to keep the public on his side or to keep his angry coalition partners in line. In fact, the right-wing coalition is already on the verge of collapse. The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/saar-rejoins-government-bolstering-netanyahu-as-longtime-rivals-say-rifts-mended/">joining</a> of Gideon Sa'ar and his New Hope Party on September 29 may have breathed some life into it, but the constant threats from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir make the government unstable, at best.</p><p>The strength of the government was tested on December 31, when a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/31/middleeast/netanyahu-hospital-prostate-budget-bill-intl-latam/index.html">decisive vote</a> on the budget law sparked a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-835712">public fight</a> between Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, almost leading to the latter’s removal.</p><p>Yet, the government remains intact simply because the war remains ongoing. The war, and the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ft.com/content/9d7bdaf0-cac0-4582-8925-fd92fa64d18d">expanded conflict</a>, have allowed Netanyahu's ministers to push their <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/12/25/israel-wants-to-double-the-population-on-the-golan-heights-occupied-since-1967_6736427_4.html">extremist agendas</a> without question, which ultimately allows Netanyahu to stay at the helm a bit longer.</p><p>But none of this is likely to change the post-war scenario: where the coalition is likely to falter, Likud may enter its own civil war, and Israeli society will likely erupt in mass protests.</p><p>It is then that coalition partners will become enemies, and the likes of Gallant may return, offering themselves as saviors. What will Netanyahu do then?</p><p><i>- Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is ‘</i><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.amazon.com/Our-Vision-Liberation-Palestinian-Intellectuals/dp/1949762440"><i>Our Vision for Liberation</i></a><i>: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out’. His other books include ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ and ‘The Last Earth’. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is </i><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ramzybaroud.net/"><i>www.ramzybaroud.net.</i></a></p> <p> <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/about/terms.html" target="_blank"><span>© Scoop Media</span></a> <br> <div id="story-footer" style="padding:20px 0;">  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1493962836337-6' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 250px; text-align: center;'><div style="text-align:center; font-size:14px; font-style: italic; color: grey; padding: 4px;">Advertisement - scroll to continue reading</div> <script> googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1493962836337-6'); }); </script> </div> </div>   <div id="byline-block"> <style> a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}</style> <div class="byline-block byline-block-light" style="background-color:#fff; font-size:16px; line-height:22px; font-weight:normal; border: 1px solid #f55a3f; width: -webkit-fill-available;"> <h3 style="margin-top:0px;">Using Scoop for work?</h3> <p> Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive <i>Pro</i> features.<br><br> <a class="supporter" href="https://pro.scoop.co.nz/Individual/?from=ProIn24" target="_blank" style="background: #f55a3f; color: #ffffff!important; border-radius: 2px; display: unset; border:none; padding: 5px 12px 6px 12px;font-weight:normal;">Join Pro Individual</a> <a style="color:#1e1e1e;display: unset; border:none;" href="https://pro.scoop.co.nz/using-scoop-for-work/?from=ProIn24" target="_blank"><u>Find out more</u></a></p> </div> </div> <div id="byline-block"><div class="byline-block byline-block-light">Find more from <a href="https://info.scoop.co.nz/Ramzy_Baroud">Ramzy Baroud</a> on InfoPages.</div></div> <div class="cleaner"> </div> </div> <div class="cleaner"> </div> <div> </div> <div id="article-base-links"> <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/news/scoops.html">Top Scoops Headlines</a> </div> <div class="section-heading"> <h2><a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/sections/comment.html">COMMENT</a></h2> <p> </p> </div> <div width="665" height="40">  <script type='text/javascript'> GA_googleFillSlot("Scoop_Top_Strip"); </script> </div> <br /> </div> <div class="section-wrapper"> <div class="cleaner"> </div> <div class="left-col" id="img-float-right"> <div class="story-panel"><a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2502/S00020/feeling-very-fine-picasso-the-printmaker-at-the-british-museum.htm"><h4><img src="https://mc-store1.s3.amazonaws.com/media/nn/beta1-scoop-co-nz/scoopFP/pUwvdBJoCgiPoq_8.jpg" width="125" height="100"><i>Binoy Kampmark:</i> Feeling Very Fine - Picasso The Printmaker At The British Museum</h4><p>This is Pablo Picasso the way he is rarely seen – at least in so far as the hundred or so pieces at the British Museum’s Picasso: Printmaker have been displayed. The viewer is treated to dazzling marked draughtsmanship that also evinces a mastery of techniques: the use of drypoint and etching, lithographs, linocuts and aquatints.</p></a></div><div class="story-panel"><a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2502/S00013/gordon-campbell-on-why-golden-visas-are-a-losing-bet-on-growth.htm"><h4><img src="https://mc-store1.s3.amazonaws.com/media/nn/beta1-scoop-co-nz/scoopFP/DsbY_c2vxDLC4QTT.jpg" width="125" height="100"><i>Gordon Campbell:</i> Gordon Campbell On Why “golden Visas” Are A Losing Bet On Growth</h4><p>For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen or resident is sold off to wealthy foreigners. </p></a></div><div class="story-panel"><a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2502/S00019/when-overlaying-fact-in-health-systems-with-fiction-morphs-into-embellishment.htm"><h4><img src="https://mc-store1.s3.amazonaws.com/media/nn/beta1-scoop-co-nz/scoopFP/Cijcm8verij7kfRD.jpg" width="125" height="100"><i>Ian Powell:</i> When Overlaying Fact In Health Systems With Fiction Morphs Into Embellishment</h4><p>Ian Powell discusses what happens when facts get overtaken by fiction to become embellishment in the context of the current direction of New Zealand’s health system. </p></a></div> </div> <div class="centre-col" id="img-float-right"> <div class="story-panel"><a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2502/S00018/trumps-gaza-plan-a-green-light-for-ethnic-cleansing.htm"><h4><img src="https://mc-store1.s3.amazonaws.com/media/nn/beta1-scoop-co-nz/scoopFP/XlpMVoJwZ1yj3HbC.jpg" width="125" height="100"><i>Ramzy Baroud:</i> Trump’s Gaza Plan - A Green Light For Ethnic Cleansing?</h4><p>The key question now is whether Arabs and other supporters of Palestine worldwide will go beyond merely rejecting such sinister proposals and take the initiative to push for the restoration of the Palestinian homeland. This requires a justice-based international campaign, rooted in international law and driven by the aspirations of the Palestinian people themselves.</p></a></div><div class="story-panel"><a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2502/S00017/does-cosmic-intelligence-care-about-humanity.htm"><h4><img src="https://mc-store1.s3.amazonaws.com/media/nn/beta1-scoop-co-nz/scoopFP/FS5WIPOvbOCQQ41E.jpg" width="125" height="100"><i>Martin LeFevre - Meditations:</i> Does Cosmic Intelligence Care About Humanity?</h4><p>No amount of activism or number of mass movements can meet the crisis of man. The undivided individual contains the whole of humanity. </p></a></div><div class="story-panel"><a href="https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2502/S00016/far-from-benign-the-us-aid-industrial-complex.htm"><h4><img src="https://mc-store1.s3.amazonaws.com/media/nn/beta1-scoop-co-nz/scoopFP/UI9wznI8Fmx-zZBh.jpg" width="125" height="100"><i>Binoy Kampmark:</i> Far From Benign - The US Aid Industrial Complex</h4><p>To provide aid suggests a benevolent undertaking delivered selflessly. It arises from charitable mission, an attempt to alleviate, or at least soften the blows of hardship arising from various impairments. 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