Benjamin Netanyahu has long been known as the magician of Israeli politics.
The nation’s longest-serving prime minister may have faced daily rallies against his plan to weaken the judiciary, presided over the most right-wing and religious government in Israel’s history and been on trial for bribery and fraud.
But Israel seemed secure, and Netanyahu appeared close to winning a huge diplomatic prize: a deal that would offer US security guarantees to Saudi Arabia in exchange for its open embrace of Israel.
As Ethan Bronner writes, Netanyahu’s reputation as Mr. Security came crashing down on Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a spree of killing, raping and kidnapping in the single worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Israel’s response — an attack on Gaza that’s killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, according to authorities in the Hamas-run enclave, left almost 2 million homeless and produced a humanitarian catastrophe — has complicated relations with Washington and other key allies.
What’s more, constant skirmishes with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea are raising fears of a full-blown regional conflict.
At home, Israeli protesters demand the government obtain the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the US and the European Union.
Netanyahu’s approval rating has collapsed, and polls show his coalition wouldn’t win a parliamentary majority in a new election. In short, many believe his time as leader is up.
And yet, the old magician may retain a trump card: the war. As long as it continues, Israel is unlikely to be able to hold a vote that would almost certainly see Netanyahu forced from office.
However much Hamas has damaged Netanyahu’s legacy, it may also be helping him hang on to power.