Israel’s Internal Conflict connection with Gaza War: An Overview

Israel's political landscape before the Gaza attack

Benjamin Netanyahu has been at the political forefront for 17 years, helming the country as Prime Minister for the longest time, apart from the 8-year gap between 1999 and 2009. Netanyahu returned for a sixth time to office- after the results of the legislative elections for the 25th Knesset on 1st November 2022. Six of these parties rejected the 181 UN resolution mandate to divide Palestine into two states- Arab and Jews- with Jerusalem under a special international regime.

Netanyahu suffered a hit to his image following the 2019 corruption charges, which caused his former moderate allies to abandon him. The searing political instability continued as Israel witnessed 5 elections in less than 4 years, yet none could form a stable majority. Netanyahu, after losing power in 2021, sought backing from right-wing parties and won a majority in 2022. The coalition party faced the widespread protests – including the military reservists- who refused to render their service until such decisions of the proposed judicial overhaul reforms are taken back.

Corruption charges against Netanyahu

Netanyahu has been embroiled in indictment since 2019. He has been indicted on 3 different corruption charges dealing with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

First, CASE 1,000, involving 2 other businessmen- Arnon Milchan, an Israeli Hollywood film producer, and James Packer, an Australian billionaire- the former has been accused of gifting the PM lavish gifts of up to $300,000, from 2007 to 2009, and in turn, receiving benefits in form of doubling the duration of tax exemption and a deal for a television channel.

Second, CASE 2000, entails Netanyahu undertaking a quid pro quo deal with Arnon Mozes, publisher of Yediot Aharonot, one of Israel’s leading newspapers. In exchange for positive coverage, the deal demands thwarting the growth of Israel Hayom, a rival newspaper, owned by Sheldon G. Adelson, who died in 2021.

Third, CASE 4000, another quid pro quo case involving tycoon, Shaul Elovitch and his wife, shareholders in Israel’s biggest telecommunication company Bezeq, which owns Walla, accused of granting favors to Netanyahu from 2012 to 2017 by accessing his news website, Walla to set a favorable narrative in exchange for financial gains.

Netanyahu has pleaded not guilty to all these accusations.

What are the judicial overhaul bills and why are they are considered problematic?

The Netanyahu government in January 2024 brought changes to diminish the power of the judiciary and lend absolute power to the Knesset. For the unversed, Israel is a liberal democracy without a tool of decentralization of power. Moreover, it doesn’t have a single written constitution but rather a series of “Basic Laws” which derives its power from the Supreme Court of Israel. The government proposed 5 reforms met with backlash by protestors from all over the country.

1. An overriding clause that permits the Knesset to enact laws that the court has declared unconstitutional.
2. Allowing a simple majority to pass “Basic Law".
3. Give any government or ministerial decision immunity from judicial review on the grounds of unreasonableness.
4. Neither the government nor the ministers are required to obey the legal advice given by their attorneys.
5. The introduction to alter the composition of the committee of judges for appointment, according to which politicians get to have a larger say corroding the independence of the judiciary.

Moreover, Netanyahu has attempted to introduce amendments to the law to make impeachment proceedings for removal of the PM more difficult. Along with introducing laws that would help him evade his corruption charges. First, in history, 15 judges convened to deliberate on the reasonableness of the law.

Gaza attack: Taking advantage of the nation’s divide

Israel’s government has been at the receiving end of the ire of thousands of protesters who are demanding for these reforms to be scrapped. The Supreme Court has been inundated with petitions, while the attorney general has refused to represent the government in this case and has directed the government to hire a private lawyer instead. Prominent figures in various fields of business, intelligence, security services, military extended their support to the protests – including the reservist military pilots- who refused to report to service to show their solidarity till the laws were taken back.

October 7, 2023, marks the black swan déjà vu event for Israel when Hamas charged 3,000 rockets and sent 1,000 fighters to Israel. It has been termed an intelligence and operational failure. However, Israel was embroiled in its domestic troubles so much, that the fundamentalist terror group Hamas took advantage of the moment and used it for their benefit of gaining an upper hand in a war that prolonged for more than a year.

The ceasefire: Why was it delayed?

In May 2024, Hamas accepted the terms of a ceasefire deal brokered between Israel and Hamas by Egyptians, Qataris, and US counterparts overseen by the head of the Central Investigating Agency (CIA), William Burns, however, Israel rejected it and geared up their assault in the Rafah border against Hamas in the Gaza strip.

According to experts, Netanyahu prolonged the Israeli conflict to postpone his legal proceedings, keep his cabinet from disintegrating, and keep himself from losing power due to postponed general elections.

The current terms of the ceasefire

After over a year, Israel has finally entered into the ceasefire agreement with Hamas which will be implemented in 3 phases- The first phase will witness the release of 1,700 Palestinians and 33 Israeli hostages over 42 days along with authorization of 600 trucks of humanitarian aid in Gaza every day and withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Netzarim corridor (separates North Gaza from South Gaza). The second phase of the war will begin 15 days after the first phase details of which are not officially released, however, it is speculated to include the release of more hostages at both ends. The third phase will likely entail declaring an end to permanent hostilities including Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza.

What does the future entail?

Netanyahu seems to have agreed to the deal cause of mounting internal and international pressure on him. Hamas has recruited more Palestinian soldiers to fight Israel’s military and a ceasefire is the way forward to peace- whether temporary or permanent only time will tell. Adding to his troubles is the resignation of his National Security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in opposition to the ceasefire deal. This doesn’t bring down the coalition as a whole but destabilizes it. The coming developments will be crucial in determining Israel’s internal politics and the end of the 470-day war.

References

• Agencies. “Israel-Hamas Ceasefire: Far-Right Ally of Netanyahu Quits Government over Gaza Ceasefire Deal.” The Hindu, 19 Jan. 2025, www.thehindu.com/news/international/far-right-ally-of-netanyahu-quits-government-over-gaza-ceasefire-deal/article69115918.ece.
• Berg, Raffi. “Israel Judicial Reform Explained: What Is the Crisis About?” Bbc.com, BBC News, 27 Mar. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-65086871.
• Collins, Liam. “Intelligence Failure or Not, the Israeli Military Was Unprepared to Respond to Hamas’ Surprise Attack.” The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2023, theconversation.com/intelligence-failure-or-not-the-israeli-military-was-unprepared-to-respond-to-hamas-surprise-attack-215322.
• DSU Admin. “General Assembly - Question of Palestine.” Question of Palestine, Oct. 2024, www.un.org/unispal/data-collection/general-assembly/#:~:text=By%20resolution%20181%20(II)%2C,under%20a%20special%20international%20regime.
• Heller, Jeffrey. “Netanyahu Pleads Not Guilty to Corruption as Trial Resumes.” Reuters, 8 Feb. 2021, www.reuters.com/article/world/netanyahu-pleads-not-guilty-to-corruption-as-trial-resumes-idUSKBN2A80JG/.
• “Israel’s Winning Coalition: Culmination of a Long Rightward Shift | Crisis Group.” Crisisgroup.org, 8 Nov. 2022, www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena/israelpalestine/israels-winning-coalition.
• Jang Ji-Hyang. “Israel-Hamas War: Analysis and Prospects Analysis and Prospects on JSTOR.” Jstor.org, 2015, www.jstor.org/stable/resrep56955?searchText=israel-hamas+war+analysis&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Disrael-hamas%2Bwar%253A%2Banalysis%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ab619e7352dd4289a616358e2a7519291&seq=3, https://doi.org/10.2307/resrep56955.
• Jazeera, Al. “Israeli Cabinet Approves Gaza Ceasefire Deal with Hamas.” Al Jazeera, 17 Jan. 2025, www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/17/israeli-cabinet-approves-gaza-ceasefire-deal.
• Kingsley, Patrick. “The Netanyahu Corruption Trial, Explained.” Nytimes.com, The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/12/10/world/middleeast/the-netanyahu-corruption-trial-explained.html.
• Knell, Yolande. “Netanyahu’s Hard-Line New Government Takes Office in Israel.” Bbc.com, BBC News, 29 Dec. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64115141.
• Lubell, Maayan. “Protests Grip Israel ahead of Historic Supreme Court Session.” Reuters, 11 Sept. 2023, www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-edge-ahead-supreme-court-session-judicial-overhaul-2023-09-11/.
• Najjar, Farah. “Benjamin Netanyahu’s Corruption Trial, What You Need to Know.” Al Jazeera, 9 Dec. 2024, www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/9/benjamin-netanyahus-corruption-trial-what-you-need-to-know.
• Nashed, Mat. ““The Goal Is to Destroy Gaza”: Why Israel Rejects a Ceasefire with Hamas.” Al Jazeera, 7 May 2024, www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/7/the-goal-is-to-destroy-gaza-why-israel-rejects-a-ceasefire-with-hamas.
• Navot, Suzie. “An Overview of Israel’s “Judicial Overhaul”: Small Parts of a Big Populist Picture.” Israel Law Review, vol. 56, no. 3, 1 Nov. 2023, pp. 482–501, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/israel-law-review/article/an-overview-of-israels-judicial-overhaul-small-parts-of-a-big-populist-picture/4E80EFB10DC617A66F898C64E20ECA1B, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021223723000262.
• ---. “An Overview of Israel’s “Judicial Overhaul”: Small Parts of a Big Populist Picture.” Israel Law Review, vol. 56, no. 3, 1 Nov. 2023, pp. 482–501, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/israel-law-review/article/an-overview-of-israels-judicial-overhaul-small-parts-of-a-big-populist-picture/4E80EFB10DC617A66F898C64E20ECA1B, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021223723000262.
• News, BBC. “Benjamin Netanyahu: What Are the Corruption Charges?” Bbc.com, BBC News, 28 Feb. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47409739.
• “The Gaza Conflict and Israel’s Domestic Politics.” Iemed.org, 2024, www.iemed.org/publication/the-gaza-conflict-and-israels-domestic-politics/.
• “The Impact of the May 2021 Hamas-Israel Confrontation.” Brandeis.edu, 2021, www.brandeis.edu/crown/publications/crown-conversations/cc-10.html.
• Www.gov.il, 2025, www.gov.il/en/pages/elections-in-israel-november-2022.