Benjamin Netanyahu is once again firmly in control of Israeli politics. <\/p>\n
The country\u2019s longest-serving prime minister has pulled himself back from the abyss with what appears to be a wildly successful opening to a military campaign against Iran. <\/p>\n
\u201cBibi had his Churchill moment,\u201d said one Israeli official from within the coalition, using the prime minister\u2019s nickname. <\/p>\n
One day before launching what Israel dubbed Operation Rising Lion, Netanyahu\u2019s government had faced a confidence vote from the opposition. <\/p>\n
Two of the ultra-Orthodox parties threatened to vote against the government in what would have put major pressure on Netanyahu. But he survived the vote \u2013 with quite some margin. <\/p>\n
Twenty-four hours later, Israel began attacking Iran. In one instant, Netanyahu\u2019s political problems were swept away. No more ultra-Orthodox parties complaining about the military draft or far-right parties shouting about praying in the al-Aqsa compound. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe cards are in his hands. If they weren\u2019t a week ago, they are now,\u201d said the official. <\/p>\n
The weekly political protests \u2013 first over the judicial reform, then over the war in Gaza \u2013 that have dogged Netanyahu for much of his current term quickly vanished, with orders from Israel\u2019s Homefront Command forbidding large gatherings of people. Netanyahu\u2019s testimony in his trial on charges of corruption is on hold and out of the headlines. The stories of the hostages still held in Gaza for more than 600 days of war are no longer front-page news. <\/p>\n
Netanyahu is well aware of the political consequences of such a successful military operation, according to an Israeli source in the prime minister\u2019s orbit, though the source insists it\u2019s not his focus right now <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we are doing something good for Israel, it\u2019s good to us,\u201d the source said. \u201cIt\u2019s good for you electorally, it\u2019s good for you with the voters \u2026 He will harvest this in the future.\u201d <\/p>\n
The source also pointed out the complete reversal of the political opposition from attacking Netanyahu to supporting him. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis time, we have unity almost all over the Knesset, except from the Arab parties, and we have unity in the people,\u201d said the source. <\/p>\n
Iran has been at the center of Netanyahu\u2019s identity for nearly his entire political career. His time as Israel\u2019s longest-serving leader is replete with warnings about Iran. Some have been borderline cartoonish, like when he held up a drawing of a bomb to warn of Tehran\u2019s advancing nuclear program at the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. He has since returned to the same podium \u2013 and many others \u2013 to lecture the world repeatedly about the intent of the Ayatollahs. <\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s existential fear wasn\u2019t a single one of its adversaries. It was all of them combined: an overwhelming attack from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and the Shiite proxies in Syria and Iraq. This was Israel\u2019s nightmare scenario that Hamas tried to instigate with its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. <\/p>\n
It quickly became evident that each entity had its own interests. <\/p>\n
Hezbollah began launching attacks against Israel on October 8, but it was far from the massive barrages which worried the military\u2019s leadership. Iran launched two retaliatory attacks against Israel last year in April and October. The Houthis began firing drones and ballistic missiles at Israel from Yemen, but never more than one or two at a time. <\/p>\n
Over 20 months of war, Israel was able to defang each of its adversaries. Hamas is a shell of its former self, Hezbollah has been shattered, and the Houthis don\u2019t have the arsenal to pose a major threat. <\/p>\n
That allowed Israel to turn its focus to Iran without fear of massive retaliation from another front. From Netanyahu\u2019s political perspective, the risk was far lower, especially since Israel\u2019s spy agency has treated Iran like its playground for years. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt his age, he has much less of a political career left to lose,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cSo it\u2019s easier to throw the caution that held him back in the past to the wind, especially to reach for a career-defining goal.\u201d <\/p>\n
But whether the military campaign against Iran buoys Netanyahu\u2019s long-sinking polling numbers is not a foregone conclusion, according to Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israeli Democracy Institute. <\/p>\n