Netanyahu Continued to Stall Truce in Washington to Stay in Power

Netanyahu left Washington, D.C. on July 11 without reaching a deal for a Truce. Although he was initially interested in a truce back in April, he has not made one, for his own political needs, slowing the cease-fire process.

Netanyahu leads a fragile coalition in Israeli Parliament, made of mostly far–right politicians who believe that there should not be a truce until Israel occupies Gaza. Without their support, Netanyahu would be out of power. Therefore, he has attempted to stall ceasefire talks to stay in power. For example, in April 2024, Netanyahu had proposed a ceasefire compromise and was ready to present it to his cabinet. Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, declared that he was hearing rumors about a ceasefire plan. “I want you to know that if a surrender agreement like this is brought forward, you no longer have a government,” Smotrich said. “The government is finished.” Netanyahu was forced to decide between a truce and political survival, and opted for survival. “No, no, there’s no such thing,” he said. Without power, Netanyahu was just a politician standing trial for corruption, a charge he faced since 2020.

The impact is seen in the current ceasefire negotiations, where Netanyahu, along with the U.S., demands that Hamas be dissolved (according to the UN). Hamas rejects this and orders that the ceasefire become permanent, wanting its survival, according to the New York Times. Netanyahu’s coalition is unified by the belief that Hamas should be dissolved and Israel should settle Gaza. Netanyahu instead gave a little ground, saying that the Israeli forces would participate in a modest retreat and remain in control of most of southern Gaza. This statement was made possible by getting a few short–term allies.

First, Netanyahu was able to bring Gideon Sa’ar and his four seats in parliament into his coalition, increasing the lead from three seats over half to seven seats over half. Next, the ultra-Orthodox party, with 11 seats, or enough to remove Netanyahu from power, wanted to leave the coalition. So, Netanyahu came up with a plan. He was going to strike Iran, but, as he told the ultra-Orthodox party leader Moshe Gafni, he could not do it if they took him out of power. So the war in Iran (and the entire Middle East) escalated, and Netanyahu stayed in power. But both these new alliances are short-term. Gideon Sa’ar’s alliance is only for the war, and the ultra-Orthodox party is only on board for those strikes, which are over now. Therefore, we still don’t know what will happen to Netanyahu in the future. Can he remain in power? Or will he get kicked out?

In the meantime, the war in Gaza continues. The Israeli news media announced plans to keep an area of Southern Gaza, following Netanyahu’s demands, and to set up a “humanitarian city” there for displaced Palestinians. Critics describe it as a “concentration camp” because its residents would not be allowed to leave. Outside this new area, the strikes continue, with Israel claiming it hit “key” Hamas personnel at a Hamas command center inside the school turned refugee camp.