Netanyahu rises in polls thanks to Iranian threat and heavy hand against Hamas and Hezbollah

Neither international pressure nor the massive weekly protests in Israel’s streets have made Netanyahu give an inch in his determination to not to end the conflict until the “complete eradication” of Hamas is achieved. His government has still not reached a ceasefire which puts an end to almost eleven months of offensive and the risk of a dangerous regional escalation and, above all, which leads to the return of a little over a hundred hostages, 109 in number, who remain in the hands of the terrorist group in the Palestinian enclave.

However, none of this seems to be harming him. And despite his declining popularity in the first months of the war, something has been changing this trend since last April. Iran’s ongoing threat and his “iron fist” against its main proxy militias -Hamas, Hezbollah or the Houthi rebels-, like the preemptive attack this Sunday in Lebanon, They once again position the Israeli prime minister as the favorite to govern the country, despite the fact that he continues to fail to achieve his main objectives in the Gaza Strip.

THE lead Popular support for Netanyahu materialized immediately in the months following the outbreak of the conflict. His party, Likudwhich was already suffering from severe deterioration due to the unpopular judicial reform which sparked massive protests across the country, was down in all polls.

As an example of this debacle, an investigation published last December by the newspaper Maariv revealed that the Likud Netanyahu, who currently holds 32 of the 120 seats in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) he remained 47% of its representation and falls to 17 deputies. While the opposition coalition National Unity Party of Benny Gantz climbs from 12 to 38 seats.

Much of this collapse was due to the fact that a large part of the population viewed the Prime Minister as Mainly responsible for security and intelligence failures On the darkest day in Israel’s history, the October 7th of last year. A traumatic day during which a series of Hamas attacks have claimed the lives of nearly 1,200 Israelismainly civilians, and 253 were kidnapped and taken to the Strip.”“This attack is like 9/11 and Pearl Harbor rolled into one.”did he come to affirm then Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus.

As the country is in turmoil, almost no one in Israel has questioned its government’s swift response. “Citizens of Israel, we are at war and we will win it“Netanyahu promised, while The Hebrew army attacked various positions in the Gaza Strip. Even political rivals have put aside their differences in the face of the serious crisis. The head of the opposition, Benny Gantzbecame part of a kind of national unity government in the form of War Cabinet, today already dissolved in the absence of a comprehensive action plan to end the conflict.

Almost Eleven months after the start of the conflict, none of the objectives have been achieved.. Despite massive weekly protests in the streets of the country’s major cities, the chances of achieving a ceasefire to allow the release of hostages held by Hamas They seem to be moving further apart every day.

THE The last living hostages, four, returned home on June 8. after one of the largest operations carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza since the beginning of the war. Last week, six more returned in a coffin after their bodies were found in a tunnel. 10 meters deep in the Strip. All had been executed with a bullet to the head. An estimated 109 kidnapped people remain in the hands of the terrorist group, a third of whom are dead.

Despite the failure to achieve objectives on the battlefield and in diplomacy, Netanyahu has achieved in recent months what seemed impossibleoverturn the polls. This ‘Resurrection“Netanyahu, in the form of a return, has a proper name and a start date, Iran and last April.

Deadly blows to Iran’s allies

A survey published this Friday by the newspaper Maariv stresses that if new elections are held in the country today, the Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition would win 52 of the 120 Knesset seats12 fewer than in the current legislature. Likud would gain 33 deputies, one more than currently, while the Blue and White party, led by Gantz, would obtain 30.

This latest survey confirms a change in trend that began last May, when a survey conducted by Israel’s leading news network, the Channel 12once again placed Netanyahu as the preferred candidate to lead the country ahead of Gantz, 36% to 30% respectively.

And the constant threat of the ayatollahs’ regime and its tentacles, the so-called Axis of resistance composed of militias such as Hamas or Hezbollah, serves as a unifying element of the vote around Netanyahu as the best guarantor of the country’s security, particularly following the Several recent fatal blows to Tehran’s allies.

On April 1st, a bombardment attributed to Israel against an Iranian consular building in Damascus killed seven members of the Iranian Revolutionary GuardsAmong them is Reza Zahedi, the head of the Qods Force in Syria and Lebanon.

THE Tehran’s response It didn’t take long to wait. On April 13, it launched more than 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles against Israel, in the first direct attack between the two countries after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iron Dome The Israelis and the support of the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Jordan intercepted 99% of the devices.

In July, a Hezbollah projectile kills 12 miners who were playing on a football field in the Golan Heights. Netanyahu responded with a double execution which dealt a mortal blow to two of Iran’s main allies: the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyehand the number two of Hezbollah, Fouad Choukr.

The Israeli president’s hand was not shaken afterward either Manipulated drone launched from Yemen reached Tel Aviv on July 19, killing one civilian after crashing into a residential building. A day later, the Israeli military bombed positions of Yemeni Houthi rebels in the port city of Hodeida on the Red Sea coast, neutralizing Iran’s main entry point for Yemeni militia weapons.

“Anyone who wants to see a stable and secure Middle East should oppose Iran’s axis of evil and support Israel’s fight against Iran and its metastases“In Yemen, in Gaza and in Lebanon, everywhere,” the Israeli Prime Minister proclaimed that day.

Here self-defense strategy is framed preemptive bombing this sunday Hezbollah positions in Lebanon after discovering that the terrorist group was preparing thousands of rocket launchers and missile launching platforms to attack Israel.

“We are determined to do everything possible to protect our country, bring northern residents home safely and continue to follow one simple rule: Whoever harms us, we will harm him.“, Netanyahu warned Iran and its allies this Sunday. A strong speech that, at least for the moment, seems to give him a boost in the polls and opinion surveys, in addition to materializing in mortal blows to the various enemies of the Jewish state.