While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t want to go to war in Gaza, he is paying a political price for that. Had he not promised Israelis that he would come up with some magical solution to the problem of Gaza, he may never have found himself caught in this trap — or at least he would not have emerged so hurt. But even after Education Minister Naftali Bennett reneged on his threats to resign and agreed to remain part of a narrow right-wing government, at least for now Netanyahu is still left with negotiations on an arrangement with Hamas, which would be hard for him to implement.

Just two days after Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman handed in his resignation, Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar — whom Netanyahu released from prison in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit deal — appeared in Khan Yunis, waving a pistol with a silencer. He claimed it had been taken from a member of the Israeli special forces unit, which was discovered recently in Gaza. Gun in hand, Sinwar boasted on Nov. 16: “What did the Israeli leadership think when it allowed in fuel and Qatari funds to pay the salaries of government workers and to help needy families? That we would sell our blood for diesel and dollars? They’ve been disappointed, and their goals have failed."

With these comments hovering in the background — and given recent political developments in Israel — several questions must be asked: Will Netanyahu allow another suitcase stuffed with money to get into Gaza next month — after authorizing the transfer of $15 million to Gaza on Nov. 11 — and thereby face another humiliating photo? As part of his arrangement with Hamas, will he agree to open the border crossings and allow thousands of day laborers from Gaza to enter Israel — and in doing so, face even more public criticism? Given his narrow government, will he be able to deliver on the arrangement as if some 500 rockets hadn’t been fired at Israel in just two days? Can he ignore the polls, which show that most Israelis believe he has failed in handling the security crisis in the south?

Netanyahu uses the polls on an almost daily basis to assess “the mood of the country” and check the percentage of support he has. A survey by Israel's Hadashot TV, released after Liberman’s resignation Nov. 14, found that 74% of respondents were unhappy with Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza issue. Meanwhile, though Liberman’s party, Yisrael Beitenu, was hovering around the electoral threshold to get into the Knesset before this, the current poll gives them two additional seats. The Likud won 30 seats in the last election, and previous polls gave it as many as 35 seats — with Netanyahu’s own goal for the next election being 40 seats. Now, the Likud is given just 29 seats. In other words, not only did its target of 40 seats seem further away than ever, but given this week’s mood, it is doubtful whether the Likud will be able to maintain its current strength.