What’s the alternative to Netanyahu’s government?

[PaxAeterna]

Perhaps somebody well versed in Israeli politics can explain. If there was an election who is most likely to gain power? Is there more moderate realistic alternative?

This isn’t something being discussed by media in the west at all.

Nope, still doesn’t add to me having read his history.

If it was Trump we were talking about, you might have a point.

I don’t think the war crimes charges against him are valid, unless you apply the same charges to every leader in history who has responded to a clear act of war.

Look at Iraq where wasn’t even an act of war.

It doesn’t stack up. A true narcissist would have thrown the towel in by now, saved their own skin, and let someone else take the flak.

The corruption charges, if proven, are minor, compared to what he’s been accused of since.

How on earth would most of us know enough about internal Israeli politics to be able to give a meaningful answer? One of the biggest curses of this whole subject is everyone and her bloody mother has an opinion, and usually an entrenched and ill-informed one. And what follows from that is often ridiculius extrapolations like there's 'no way that Israel will go down a less extremist path in the near future'

Please tell us how you know that with such certainty?
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One awful consequence might be that Israel will be emboldened by the lack of any substantial measures taken against it by the west. I'm sure that it has been monitoring closely the amount of opprobrium it's been receiving and using that to help determine how far it can go.
Israel has realised that with pretty solid support from the US it doesn't really need to worry about any bleating from Europe and it has, more or less, a free rein. It doesn't bode well.

Israel has had almost 80 years ‘to see how far it can go’.

Long before smart phones, SM and 24 hour news channels were invented.

They could have ethnically cleansed all the Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank in 1967.

Annexed them.

Could have not left Gaza in 2005 and allowed them free elections and autonomy to elect Hamas.

Could have refused Palestinians access to Jerusalem.

They could have blocked the internet and mobile data signal over Gaza in Oct 2023.

They could have cut off electricity and refused to let aid in at all.

Refused to allow international doctors to fly into Israel to treat Gazans.

They probably wouldn’t have been condemned much more than they are now.

Why do you think they didn’t?

People here mentioned that they are in Israel or that they have family in Israel. So I’m interested in their opinion. This is not a topic that is being discussed in the west.

It's not that straightforward, really.

Under the current far-right government, legislation has been advanced that would probably stop "non-zionist" [read: ethnic equality] parties from even contesting elections. This may arguably see parties such as Hadash-Ta'al (progressive left and Palestinian Israelis) unable to compete at all.

Then you have stuff such as The Democrats - a merger between Meretz and Ha'voda (basically Israeli Labour; once the overwhelmingly dominant force in Israeli politics; Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Simon Peres, Ehud Barack and, for that matter: current president Herzog? All Labour figures!).

But those are at best mildly critical of current state conduct. When Yair Golan, Democrats leader, issued a sharp statement against what was happening in Gaza that included the phrase "killing children as a hobby" the internal backlash was so harsh that he did a more or less immediate correction to "I obviously only meant the government and not the IDF whose soldiers do the actual shooting".

Then you have figures like Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot (both briefly part of the war cabinet during the ongoing situation), Avigdor Lieberman (once considered hard right - overtaken by the current lot). They are by and large no less hardline but prefer softer or slightly softer rhetoric.

No good prospects in sight, I'm afraid.

I’m not sure if it’s relevant talking about history here. Sure you could say the same about any genocide- why didn’t it happen before.

but for the rest, it strikes me that not everyone in the Israeli government is behind genocide. So these measures would have been too far. Also if they blocked all aid from the start, stopped doctors entering, Israelis allies and Israeli citizens would have been alarmed from the start. This is more of a slow squeeze to death for Gazans. We also see how the US under Trump has enabled the aid situation, has encouraged the talk of ethnic cleansing. Would this have happened if a different government were in the US? The israeli government has been seeing how far they can push things and there seems to be no limits, there has been lots of words and threats but very little action.

In all fairness: the rhetoric may have been slightly less crass but it did happen under Biden. Who was not a real estate mogul and hence did not post any AI videos of "Biden Tower Gaza". But, on substance, there was not that much more pushback. Or any at all. He gave us Golda Meir nostalgia racism instead.

Kamala Harris tried to make "I'm speaking!" a #girlboss moment on multiple occasions during her short campaign by shouting down protesters. Trump would have won either way but: this (and sending Bill Clinton doing a Bible Study Class and Liy Cheney) may have cost them Michigan.

Much as I genuinely dislike Trump: this is a bipartisan atrocity!

There was more criticism. Biden ultimately did not agree with what was happening in the end. I hate to defend Biden who was just stupid and thought he could talk Netanyahu out of it because they were friends. But I don’t think the US would have signed up to the GHF for example. The image of “Trump Gaza” emboldened them and we’ve seen things get turned up a notch.

After they broke the ceasefire, Katz said "Hamas must understand that the rules of the game have changed”

I think he is referring to the new US government here.

Oh, yes, we can agree on that. The Democrats did the optics very marginally better. But then: probably GWB would have, too. Trump is just uniquely bad at them.

Thanks @SomeWomanSomewhere
It has been portrayed that a few extremely right wing members are controlling the Knesset and Netanyahu’s government by threatening to dissolve the coalition, that these members are responsible for the worst of the decisions taken eg not allowing in sufficient aid to starving Gazans, not accepting ceasefire, and current talk expansion of military takeover of Gaza. All of which is also putting hostages at risk.

I was thinking why the rest of the government could not hold a vote of no confidence in Netanyahu - including members of the Likud party?

It doesn’t seem that the political mood is do anything different in Israel at present?

Stay out of it, and focus on the mounting problems in the UK.

I was responding to the person who thought that the fact that noone on MN had been able to answer the OP's question proved anything at all.

Having made this place pretty much a no-go area for Israelis and Jewish people over the last year or so you all expect them to pop on here and have a discussion about internal Israeli politics.
Amazing.

Of course history is relevant. When Rabin was assassinated, if Shimon Peres had called a general election straightaway there would have been a landslide Labour victory, in sympathy with Rabin (assassinated by a right wing Jew, not an Arab). Instead, he waited, and this is how Netanyahu and his cronies got in.

Secondly, Ehud Barak offered the Palestinians the best offer they were ever likely to get, which was essentially a two state solution. Arafat refused, and talks broke down (that’s quite a simplistic explanation, but it would have involved settlers moving out of parts of the West Bank, notably Hebron and Kiryat Arab), largely over the status of Jerusalem, and the return of refugees (which would have skewed the ethnic balance of Israel).

Then we had the second intifada and we are where we are today.

It’s beyond unfair to say I’ve personally made this place a no go place for Israeli and Jewish people.

I have done nothing except criticise the israeli government. and I’m not saying anything that isn’t been said from within Israel now.

I didn't say you personally had made the place a no go area. I said 'you all' which means everybody. I was also responding to someone else, not you in my previous post.

There is absolutely no doubt that it has become a no go area. Have you not noticed how few people post here now? Have you listened when they express their views? Have you seen what happens when they push back?

I think less people are willing to defend Israeli government actions to be honest.

We’re nearly at the point where everyone was always against this.

Having made this place pretty much a no-go area for Israelis and Jewish people over the last year or so
There is absolutely no doubt that it has become a no go area. Have you not noticed how few people post here now? @SharonEllis

If it were a "no-go" area, then there wouldn't be any posts from Jewish people or Israel supporters, but there are both..... so "no-go" area is a falsehood.

Perhaps the reason for there being fewer people now than there were 18 months ago posting support for Israel's actions, is that those who once felt Israel's actions were justifiable no longer hold that view. Not everyone was "I'm for Israel,whatever they do" and they have, over time, modified their stance.

Well, have you considered that he is, in fact, a genocidal psycopath and that's the real reason why he does the things he does?

Yes way back when Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, he was targeted by extremists who labeled him a traitor and even carried nooses in protest. Netanyahu played a key role in fueling this division, portraying Rabin as a traitor.

Netanyahu is an extremist figure, comparable to Trump, who through his divisive tactics including indirectly enabling groups like Hamas as part of a “divide and rule” strategy has put Israel in greater jeopardy than perhaps at any time since its founding. To make matters worse, his current government includes several individuals facing serious criminal charges, such as Netanyahu himself (facing corruption charges), Aryeh Deri (convicted of bribery), and other controversial figures, further undermining the country’s stability and democratic institutions. So yes, Netanyahu bears a lot of the blame for this, and the fact that he is more popular than ever in Israel only underscores the troubling direction of democratic dysfunction and a march to a highly militarised ethno-facist state.

A no go area? I see the opposite as true the majority of posts and posters are from people in support of Israeli government actions in Gaza. Most people are sick of trying to argue with such entrenched views and there is only so many times you can take getting dismissed as a Hamas supporter and antisemitic, it becomes pointless especially when the narrative being expressed by posters is pretty mainstream views.

Have you seen what happens when they push back?
Enlighten us? Push back happens on both sides.

Oh, and Andrew Fox who was previously quoted as a reliable pro-Israel source in another thread that's since been removed has reposted this. The instinct to cling to power, especially for those who have held it for decades and face serious jeopardy if they lose it, is as old as the hills. What surprises me is that anyone should be surprised by this.

Yes in spades like yesterday.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/genocide-as-genesis/

What, then, is to be done? First, flood Gaza with aid—yes, flood. Hunger is Hamas’s currency; debase it. Israel should airdrop, convoy, and maritime‑deliver food until flour is cheaper than propaganda. Second, lock in a narrow buffer zone—no grand annexation fantasies—and trade it for the hostages. Insist that any post‑war authority be Arab‑funded, Egypt‑policed, and U.S‑guaranteed. If Hamas tries to rearm, the IDF should reserve the right to strike, à la the raid on Syria’s nuclear archive: in, out, mission accomplished.

Finally, Israel’s leaders must speak less of “total victory” and more of limited objectives clearly achieved. The objective is not to create a rubble‑free Gaza utopia—history says that dream is dust—but to ensure that no enclave on the Mediterranean plots the next Simchat‑Torah slaughter. Disarm Hamas enough to deter, empower Gazans enough to choose, and enlist the region to enforce.

The caution against giving murder a moral mandate is clear. The world now teeters on that precipice. Recognizing a state mid‑slaughter would weaponize victimhood and canonize atrocity as statecraft. For Israel—and for the decency of nations—the imperative is clear: starve the strategy, not the people, and refuse to let genocide become genesis.

Yes, absolutely - like yesterday. And if you're not pushing for that, then honestly, I'm not sure what moral universe you're operating in

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/genocide-as-genesis/

What, then, is to be done? First, flood Gaza with aid—yes, flood. Hunger is Hamas’s currency; debase it. Israel should airdrop, convoy, and maritime‑deliver food until flour is cheaper than propaganda. Second, lock in a narrow buffer zone—no grand annexation fantasies—and trade it for the hostages. Insist that any post‑war authority be Arab‑funded, Egypt‑policed, and U.S‑guaranteed. If Hamas tries to rearm, the IDF should reserve the right to strike, à la the raid on Syria’s nuclear archive: in, out, mission accomplished.

Finally, Israel’s leaders must speak less of “total victory” and more of limited objectives clearly achieved. The objective is not to create a rubble‑free Gaza utopia—history says that dream is dust—but to ensure that no enclave on the Mediterranean plots the next Simchat‑Torah slaughter. Disarm Hamas enough to deter, empower Gazans enough to choose, and enlist the region to enforce.

The caution against giving murder a moral mandate is clear. The world now teeters on that precipice. Recognizing a state mid‑slaughter would weaponize victimhood and canonize atrocity as statecraft. For Israel—and for the decency of nations—the imperative is clear: starve the strategy, not the people, and refuse to let genocide become genesis.

Simply not true. Nowhere near the majority of posts are in support of the Israeli government. I'd say there are very few. I am pro Israel but do not particularly support the government.