It lasted all of 24 seconds. That was the entire length of the video that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted to social media at 9:00 p.m. on Jan. 24. The tightly edited video featured remarks by two leaders of the demonstrations outside the attorney general’s house: Manny Naftali, the former superintendent of the prime minister’s residence, and social activist Eldad Yaniv. These two men are most closely identified with a series of demonstrations that took place there every Saturday night during many weeks, in an effort to pressure Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit to indict the prime minister. “Mandelblit, we haven’t forgotten you! We’re coming to your home,” Naftali promises. The video clip is accompanied by the header, “The left is applying pressure to the attorney general. Will that pressure work?”

Netanyahu’s election videos are very brief, rhythmic and provocative. The thing is that they do not target some political rival; they are focused on Mandelblit, who, according to all observers, is expected to announce his decision to indict Netanyahu for bribery (subject to a hearing) in Case 4000 (a telecom-media affair), and that he will do this some time in February, just before the April 9 election.

This scenario could have far-reaching consequences on the election results. For example, the accusations of bribery against Netanyahu could scare off Likud voters. As soon as the words, “The State of Israel versus Benjamin Netanyahu” open all the TV news broadcasts and appear in all the newspaper headlines, Netanyahu will take a hit. It is still too hard to assess the actual effect of the damage, but that is precisely what is worrying the prime minister. It isn’t Benny Gantz, former Israel Defense Forces chief and head of the new Israel Resilience party, or Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid or labor head Avi Gabbay who are keeping him up at night. What worries him most is the attorney general’s apparent decision. A poll released by Army Radio Jan. 22 found that the Likud would lose four seats if the attorney general decides to indict Netanyahu. While the poll also shows that Netanyahu would continue to lead the largest party, with 25 seats, it is nevertheless understandable why Netanyahu feels caught in a state of uncertainty.

If there is anything that Netanyahu always tries to reduce, no matter what decision he must make, it is the element of uncertainty. That's why, whenever possible, he always formed a rough coalition even before the election took place, by making promises to his potential partners or forging ad hoc alliances with his allies to ensure his election. That is what he did with Chair of Yisrael Beitenu Avigdor Liberman before the 2013 election. But now, on the eve of the 2019 election, Netanyahu is having a hard time maintaining control of the situation. The scope of the uncertainty in which he is functioning is absolutely enormous.