“Forget about the Trump peace initiative,” a senior Israeli political figure well versed in the details of the latest diplomatic moves told Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity. “The problem is not about bridging gaps between us and the Palestinians,” he said. “The solution is well known and familiar to the Trump administration.” To push it forward, however, the real sticking point must be overcome. “That problem is called the Netanyahu government,” he remarked. “Sadly, there are no indications for now that the American president is willing to deal with it.”

Shortly after that conversation, Yaakov Peri, Knesset member for the centrist Yesh Atid and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's previous government, told Al-Monitor that he came away from the many talks he had had with Netanyahu under the impression that the prime minister fully understood the need to separate from the Palestinians. Nonetheless, Peri too believes that the Israeli government in its current composition is part of the problem, not the solution.

The prolonged stalemate in negotiations with the Palestinians — along with the government’s anti-democratic legislation, “religionization” of the school system, and the flood of police investigations directly and indirectly involving Netanyahu — are not achieving the critical mass in public opinion needed to bring down the government. Netanyahu is still the clear front-runner in public opinion polls. It would not be an overstatement to say that the fate of millions — both Israelis and Palestinians — lies in the hands of one man: Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. A decision on his part to indict Netanyahu, if only in relation to one small scandal, could put an end to Israel’s rightist, settler regime. The government’s collapse alone is not sufficient to promote the two-state solution, but it is an essential prerequisite.

The police and state attorneys involved in the various corruption investigations are in agreement about the facts. Even Netanyahu himself does not deny receiving gifts from business people. He claims a politician is entitled to accept presents from friends, and these have nothing to do with any activity on his part to promote their financial interests. The prime minister also admits to conducting talks with Arnon Mozes, publisher of the mass circulation Yedioth Ahronoth, on a deal for positive coverage. Netanyahu also claims, however, that he did not intend to follow through on any agreement discussed with Mozes and had only meant to entrap the media mogul.