With Israel’s undeclared invasion of Lebanon, has Netanyahu already won?
Al Jazeera
Critics have said the prime minister’s surge in support following the assault on Lebanon may be short-lived.
After nearly a year of political division, popular protest and international isolation, Israel’s attacks on Lebanon appear to have given a second wind of sorts to the rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced an estimated million, coming after the detonation of thousands of booby-trapped communication devices belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The detonations in late September ignited a groundswell of support within Israel for the embattled prime minister and his right-wing Likud party that only increased when a second front on Lebanon was opened and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated a few days later.
However, while Netanyahu may be enjoying the sunlight of his popular resurgence, his political critics silenced, and the entry of former political adversary Gideon Saar into his cabinet, observers have pointed to storm clouds that appear to be returning to the prime minister’s horizon.
