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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaNetanyahu is a survivor, but his problems are stacking upPublished5 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warBy Wyre DaviesBBC Middle East correspondent”How many more deaths and disasters will Israel endure under Netanyahu’s watch?” ran a headline in an Israeli newspaper this week.The piece in Haaretz followed a report that held the Israeli prime minister and other senior figures in his administration personally responsible for failures over a stampede that led to the death of 45 people at a Jewish religious festival in 2021.The newspaper, which is frequently critical of the prime minister, pointed out that Mr Netanyahu did not respond directly to the report. Instead, his Likud party suggested that the commission investigating the disaster was itself politically motivated.Commentators across the political divide saw a parallel between the Mount Meron disaster and the 7 October attacks by Hamas, in which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage – specifically Mr Netanyahu’s refusal to accept responsibility.It comes at a time when opinion polls do not make good reading for the prime minister.While he has insisted that “absolute victory” is the only option to end the war, a poll last month by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) found that a majority of both Jewish (51%) and Arab Israelis (77.5%) said there is a low likelihood of achieving his aim to eliminate Hamas.One survey, conducted back in November by Bar Ilan University, suggested that fewer than 4% of Israelis trusted Mr Netanyahu’s decision-making over the war in Gaza.While confidence in Mr Netanyahu is low, most Israelis have consistently supported the war in Gaza. The IDI’s Tamar Herman sees no contradiction in the suggestion that while most Israelis support the conflict and are less supportive of a future Palestinian state, they’re still mistrustful of Mr Netanyahu.He spearheaded unpopular judicial reforms before the Hamas attacks, and then “lost his security credentials after 7 October”, Mr Herman said. The lack of progress in releasing the remaining hostages is also a source of criticism. Last weekend, thousands of relatives of the hostages and their supporters ended a four-day march outside his official residence in Jerusalem. “Our government must ensure, above all else, that they come home, said Yair Mozes, whose 79-year-old father Gadi was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. “This is the only humane thing that can happen.”Mr Netanyahu says they are a priority, but his decision to not send a delegation to ceasefire talks in Cairo this week was met with derision in parts of the Israeli media.With the hide of a rhinoceros and an absolute conviction in the justness of his cause, Mr Netanyahu dug in even deeper this week.He reiterated that troops would eventually launch an assault on the southern city of Rafah, where an estimated 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering. More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and much of the territory has been destroyed by Israeli shelling.With more signs of a famine looming, international pressure has only grown.A belligerent Mr Netanyahu told a military graduation ceremony this week that that the military “will continue to operate against all of Hamas’s battalions”.”There is international pressure, and it is increasing,” he said, “but it is precisely when the international pressure increases that we must close ranks among ourselves.”Mr Netanyahu was said to be livid this week when Benny Gantz, his arch-political rival and member of the unity war cabinet, set off on an unannounced and unsanctioned trip to visit key allies in Washington DC and London.Mr Gantz is a former army general and chief of staff, and leads the more centrist National Unity party. If an election were to be held today, polls suggest Mr Gantz would secure enough votes in the 120-seat Knesset to form a coalition government and unseat Benjamin Netanyahu.Some of Mr Gantz’s appeal is simply that he is not Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s a centrist and pragmatist who stands by Israel’s military objectives. The openness with which he was received by senior US and UK officials was widely interpreted back home in Israel as a snub to Mr Netanyahu.Others have criticised Mr Gantz, describing him as a “political parking lot”. Transport minister Miri Regev, a Netanyahu ally, said Mr Gantz’s visit looked like “some kind of subversion, like he’s working behind the prime minister’s back”.Mr Netanyahu is a seasoned political survivor. Both his critics and supporters say he will do almost anything to stay in power and keep his government together. But his slim coalition relies on controversial far-right ministers and religious parties to keep afloat, and it is under strain.In return for their support, the groups insist on financial concessions and the right of Orthodox Jews who are religious students to be exempt from military service. In a country where military service is universal, that has always been a contentious issue. But with Israeli soldiers being killed on active duty in Gaza, it’s a policy coming under increasing pressure.Defence Minister Yoav Gallant – also seen as a possible replacement for Mr Netanyahu – is known to be actively seeking to overturn the policy. And the former head of the Shin Bet internal security service, Nadav Argaman, told a security conference in Tel Aviv this week: “An Israeli citizen is someone who serves the state as it determines, meaning either military service or national service.”Mr Netanyahu cannot be all things to all people. When the war ends, there will be an inquiry into the events of 7 October, and who knew what, when.Mr Netanyahu will come under intense scrutiny over what warnings his government was given and his subsequent response. If any findings are highly critical of his role, as many observers think they will be, he may not be able to dismiss them as easily as he dealt with this week’s Mount Meron report. Biden treads carefully through Middle East minefieldGaza desperately needs more aid but agencies can’t copeIsrael-Gaza war: Death and Israel’s search for ‘total victory’What are routes out of this ‘dangerous moment’ in Middle East?Huge push for Gaza aid – but little hope for those sufferingIran’s sudden strikes show just how perilous region has becomeTough choices for Israel in US’s Middle East visionHuge challenges for Israel on its vague ‘day after’ Gaza planStakes are immense as Biden presses Israel to change courseHamas support soars in West Bank – but full uprising can still be avoidedThe status quo is smashed. The future is messy and dangerousBowen: US sets clearer red lines for Israel as ceasefire endsWhen this truce ends, the decisive next phase of war beginsRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territoriesGazaTop StoriesArmy’s top IRA spy ‘cost more lives than he saved’Published1 hour agoFertility clinic licence suspended over concernsPublished1 hour agoWest Bank violence: ‘My child’s destiny was to get killed’Published6 hours agoFeaturesWhy does International Women’s Day matter?Did State of the Union change how voters see Biden?Weekly quiz: Which billionaire hired Rihanna to celebrate a wedding?Singapore sting: How spies listened in on German generalMH370: The families haunted by one of aviation’s greatest mysteriesPride, pilgrims and parades: Africa’s top shotsWhy did the IRA not kill Stakeknife?’I’m really shy’ – The return of Gossip’s Beth DittoHow are the child benefit rules changing?Elsewhere on the BBCThe ultimate bromanceWatch the masters of satire Peter Cook and Dudley Moore with a look back through the archivesAttributioniPlayerDid one man from Iraq make Norway rich?Meet the man behind Norway’s rise to oil richesAttributionSoundsCan new evidence solve aviation’s greatest mystery?Ten years after the Malaysian Airlines flight disappeared, new technology may explain whyAttributioniPlayerHow Trump’s golf dream turned into a nightmare…His controversial golf development in Aberdeenshire was greenlit with awful consequencesAttributionSoundsMost Read1Boy, 11, found driving BMW towing caravan on M12TV star shaken after Jaguar brakes fail during drive3Meghan: ‘We’ve forgotten our humanity’ online4Fertility clinic licence suspended over concerns5Keegan: ‘I’d have probably punched Ofsted staff’6Five killed in Gaza aid drop parachute failure – reports7US says UFO sightings likely secret military tests8’Bearman already marked out as potentially a special one’AttributionSport9Army’s top IRA spy ‘cost more lives than he saved’10Constance Marten: I carried baby’s body in a bag

[ad_1] Although most Israelis support the war in Gaza, confidence in the prime minister is low, writes Wyre Davies.