Israel’s Netanyahu falls in polls, could abandon judicial overhaul

TEL AVIV — Israeli security forces intensified their presence in Jerusalem Friday morning, as 95,000 Palestinians entered the city for the fourth Friday Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Israel Defense Forces has also set up additional Iron Dome missile defense batteries across the country, in fear of rocket attacks either from the Gaza Strip or from the Lebanese border.

While security tensions intensify across Israel, so do the political internal tensions. The two issues are intertwined. Recent polls indicate a plunge in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, signs of disaffection are emerging from his hardcore base and he is persona non grata in Washington and other regional and world capitals. More so, the economy is on a dangerous downturn, with no stopping on the horizon.

For Netanyahu, there is no good news in the offing. He appears to be regretting the adventure on which he embarked, which handed him a Nov. 1 election victory — but at the expense of bowing to radical nationalist, religious forces. That being said, several signals in the past few days indicate a possible shift in the direction Netanyahu has taken in his first 100 days in office.

On Thursday evening, Netanyahu faced the cameras at his favorite media outlet, Channel 14, Israel’s version of Fox News. The audience was less than enthusiastic — at one point Netanyahu himself signaled them to cheer him — but veteran Netanyahu watchers discerned in his long monolog what they described as the beginning of a shift away from the radical right, toward the political center. “Maybe this wasn’t a turn, but more of a signal that a turn was coming,” a senior Likud party source said on condition of anonymity. “But it doesn’t take a genius to realize that Netanyahu sees he has hit a dead end, at best, or is heading for the verge and a bone-crushing drop.”