The central question now dominating the Israeli scene is whether the current right-wing coalition can withstand the mounting pressures unleashed by the war, or whether shifting political currents are poised to reshape the entire landscape.
At the heart of the ruling bloc is Likud, the largest coalition partner with 32 seats, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It is bolstered by the ultra-Orthodox parties—United Torah Judaism under Meir Porush and Shas led by Aryeh Deri—and by two of the most hardline factions in Israeli politics: Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power. Together, these groups have driven the coalition’s right-wing agenda, from expanding West Bank settlements to rejecting any political pathway towards Palestinian statehood.
Several former right-wing allies have since broken away. Naftali Bennett’s New Right collapsed after the 2022 elections, prompting him to announce a new party, “Bennett 2026,” aimed explicitly at challenging Netanyahu. Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, once a key partner, now sits in opposition, largely over disputes on religion and military conscription.
The opposing camp first took shape in 2021 with the “Change Government,” an anti-Netanyahu alliance uniting centrist and liberal forces such as Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, and the left-leaning Labor and Meretz (now merged into the Democrats). Arab parties joined with limited leverage, notably Mansour Abbas’s United Arab List and the Joint List.
Another emerging force is the “State Camp,” formed in 2022 by Gantz, Gideon Sa’ar, and former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, who has since split off to form his own party, Yashar.
In recent weeks, Bennett has re-emerged as a prominent voice, calling for a mass rally demanding an official inquiry into the failures of 7 October. The demonstration, reported by Yedioth Ahronoth, drew thousands in Tel Aviv and was attended by opposition leaders, including Lapid, Golan, and Eisenkot. They collectively argue that Netanyahu mishandled the Gaza war and prioritized political survival over national accountability.
Internal dissent within Likud has also grown. Likud MK Amit Halevi described UNSC Resolution 2083—endorsed by Netanyahu—as a “disaster” for Israel, accusing the government of yielding to American pressure. Finance Minister Ze’ev Elkin, also of Likud, rejected any notion of a Palestinian state, warning it would geographically fragment Israel and provoke further settler–Palestinian violence.
The far-right partners have responded with even sharper rhetoric. Smotrich and Ben-Gvir attacked Netanyahu for accepting the UN resolution and threatened to leave the coalition—an escalation consistent with previous confrontations over Gaza aid deliveries and earlier ceasefire proposals. Smotrich vowed to block any process that hints at future recognition of a Palestinian state, while Ben-Gvir went further, threatening to order the arrest of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas if the agreement proceeds.
A Channel 14 poll reflects the political turbulence: in one week, the right-wing bloc fell from 66 to 64 seats. Likud dropped from 35 to 34, while Jewish Power lost one seat. Yet Netanyahu remains the preferred prime minister with 51 percent support, far ahead of Bennett’s 23 percent—suggesting that despite internal fractures, a Netanyahu-led coalition could still win an early election, even as Yesh Atid inches upward.
Lapid has accused Netanyahu of capitulating to pressure from US President Donald Trump. On X, he argued that Israel’s “most extreme right-wing government” had abandoned its annexation agenda and accepted cooperation with the Palestinian Authority—an outcome he attributes to American intervention.
The government’s decision to form a small ministerial team—Sa’ar, Smotrich, and Ben-Gvir—to oversee the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement signals further internal confrontation. All three ministers oppose any diplomatic track towards Palestinian statehood, deepening instability within an already fractured political landscape.
As Israel approaches its scheduled October elections, the intersection of the Gaza war and domestic politics is becoming increasingly combustible. Hardline factions are seeking to leverage the conflict to advance their agenda, while critics warn that economic pressures and widening social divides are being dangerously overlooked.
A recent Zman Yisrael report revealed that Smotrich had been preparing for a major confrontation in Gaza for years, using international pressure, including US demands for humanitarian access, to sustain military operations at considerable human and political cost. He is also under scrutiny for his handling of the state budget during the war. Labor MK Merav Ben Ari accused him of diverting 255 million shekels in 2024 under the guise of West Bank development—funds she claims were redirected for partisan purposes.
These developments underscore a political arena in flux. The Gaza war has sharpened ideological divides, emboldened new challengers, and exposed fault lines within the ruling coalition. Whether the right-wing bloc consolidates or fractures will depend largely on how Israelis interpret the war’s failures, its mounting costs, and the uncertain path ahead.
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