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Netanyahu trapped over Gaza, political crisis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must prove to the Israeli public that his decision to accept a cease-fire with Hamas and advance an arrangement could actually bring about quiet to the south.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 18, 2018. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC1E94DE3E10
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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."

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