In resorting to desperate measures to remain in office, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is threatening to unleash civil war in Israel and a broader war in the region, including against Iran. As crowds surge into the streets in protest, there are a number of reasons why they are demonstrating:
---In the last week, Netanyahu broke the Gaza ceasefire, and is now sending IDF troops back into Gaza, with corpses of children piling up;
---Family members of hostages are accusing him of endangering the remaining hostages by escalating the war against Hamas;
---Extremists in the war cabinet, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, are pushing for the "transfer" Palestinians from Israel's occupied territories. Smotrich, the Finance Minister, who lives in an illegal settlement, is "legalizing" settlements, which violate international law, saying that "annexation" is an "important step on the path to sovereignty";
---When asked about the growing opposition to his government, Netanyahu played his "Trump card", saying that, like Trump, he is under attack from "leftist Deep State" operatives.
---He is trying to fire the chief of the Shin Bet internal security service, Ronen Bar. At the March 20 emergency session, the cabinet approved the removal of Bar, despite Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara saying he could not take that step. Netanyahu's cronies responded by moving to oust her as well. thus trigerring a Constitutional crisis. The Supreme Court stepped in to put a temporary hold on the firings.
---Among those joining the demonstrations are prominent Israelis, including respected former Shin Bet Chief Ami Ayalon, and Aharon Barak, the former Chief Justice of Israel's Supreme Court, who warned that the country was "heading towards a civil war."
As the numbers joining the anti-Netanyahu marches are growing, he is counting on his image as a "war-time" leader to give him protection, as the one standing up to defend Israel against terrorists and anti-Semites. Further, he cites support for his government from President Trump as proof that all is well, as the U.S. is behind Israel, no matter how many Palestinian children are killed. (more...)
Trump's Support for Bibi threatens his Presidency
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