Benjamin Netanyahu just suffered a severe new blow on his way out the door
Yesterday Palmer Report pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached the groveling stage of his downfall. He was offering to leave office peacefully in exchange for a pardon on the criminal indictment he’s facing. Netanyahu had very little leverage, of course, and was essentially begging for mercy. Now Netanyahu has suffered a new blow which leaves him with even less leverage.
The Arab alliance in Israel is now officially endorsing Netanyahu’s opponent Benny Gantz to be the new Prime Minister. This is crucial because Israel has several political parties and none of them came close to winning a majority in the recent election, meaning that some of the parties will have to form a majority coalition in order to put together a functioning government. The Arab alliance hates Gantz, but they’re just that eager to get rid of Netanyahu.
This should help clear the way for other political parties to steer their support toward Gantz and his party. If Gantz can form a majority coalition, he’ll become Prime Minster, and Netanyahu will officially no longer hold office. If Netanyahu refuses to physically leave the office, law enforcement will simply drag him out by his heels.
This continues to be bad news for Donald Trump for two reasons. First, Netanyahu – a corrupt criminal who has been pushing xenophobic rhetoric and harming Israel from within for a long time – is a close Trump ally. The last thing Trump needs is to lose one of his few allies on the world stage right now. Second, this is shaping up as a preview of Trump’s own fate if he loses in 2020: he’ll be indicted, and if he refuses to leave office, law enforcement will just drag him out of the Oval Office.
