Has Netanyahu Just Lost His Most Important Ally?

Right, so Bezalel Smotrich has resigned as finance minister and as a defence minister, is the coalition government of Benjamin Netanyahu cracking up then Damo? Well, perhaps don’t get too excited just yet, because yes, Smotrich has resigned, but as with all things in Israel, as with all things Netanyahu stitches up to suit himself, its not as simple as that because in Israel quitting doesn’t necessarily mean quitting at all and I will make that claim make sense before the end of this video.
It is certainly still a blow to Benjamin Netanyahu though, because the reason for Smotrich’s resignation has everything to do with the return to government of Itamar Ben Gvir and his far right Otzma Yehudit party following the resumption of genocide in Gaza, a move you would think would cheer him, he’s got his little far right mate back in government with him, they always seemed so close, but its not been a warm welcome back at all, and if the far right who hold the reins of Netanyahu’s power are going to fall out with each other, there may be nothing Netanyahu can do to save himself if this civil war within his own ministry widen.
Right, so the resignation of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government marks yet another fracture in an increasingly unstable far-right alliance, following the flouncing out of government of far right settler goblin Itamar Ben Gvir and then his unfortunate return to government to join in again when the genocide restarted.
Smotrich’s departure, is as a result of a dispute with Ben Gvir as it happens, because not only did Ben Gvir walk back into government no questions asked, but he had the neck to demand more governmental power for his own rump of a party whilst he was at it. That said, Smotrich’s resignation isn’t really a resignation in the way we all think of resigning either, Israeli politics has been stitched up more complexly than that, when you get down into it, it is a procedural manoeuvre actually, I’ll explain this presently, but it is still damaging, it does have the effect of being more serious than just moving deckchairs so to speak, it is a symptom of a government rotting from within, being consumed by its own extremism, infighting, and the moral bankruptcy of all of its policies, so much of it designed to keep Netanyahu out of jail, but particularly with regards to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
So lets get into this. The first major sign of instability in Netanyahu’s government came at the beginning of this year courtest of the big orange bloater that passes for President of the US, Donald Trump, wanting a ceasefire in place in Gaza to make hm look good, to make it look like he’d done what genocide Joe Biden couldn’t. It was all for show, as soon as he got the adulation he wanted, genocide could resume for all Trump cared, here Bibi have a load of weapons even Biden wouldn’t let you have kind of thing. It didn’t matter that this was all for show, when you are owned lock, stock and barrel by the settler movement as Ben Gvir is, representing the very worst of the worst, it was a resignation matter, no ifs or buts, he tried to get Smotrich to follow him and collapse the government, but Smotrich was promised more illegal settlements, he opted to stay for the first phase, but had told Netanyahu phase 2 of the ceasefire was a no-no and so we all knoew at that point, that the ceasefire was doomed never to get that far and so many of us commentators who were pointing that out were sadly proven correct.
The ceasefire collapsed under that pressure ostensibly from Smotrich, and Ben Gvir then returned to the government—but not without new demands. He insisted on expanded powers and more ministerial positions for his party. This set the stage for a direct confrontation with Smotrich, caused by Ben Gvir’s return to his former post of National Security Minister and that of his fellow Otzma Yehudit politician Avichai Eliyahu as Minister of heritage.
You see, the way Israeli governance works is that under the so called Norwegian Law, so named because of a similar mechanism in Norway, members of the Knesset, MK’s who are promoted to a ministerial role can effectively give up their role in the Knesset itself, in order to focus on their executive duties. As a result of that, someone from the downlist as its called, is brought up to take their place in the Knesset to cover those duties, it would be like having substitute MPs in this country, with ministers no longer having to bother with their constituency work, because somebody else has come up to cover that for them.
This means that any MK becoming a minister gives a job in the Knesset to someone on that downlist, but a resignation takes that away again, as the resigning minister or sacked minister if that be the case, returns to their original role in the Knesset.
When Ben Gvir and Otzma Yehudit quit the government over the Gaza ceasefire, they returned to their Knesset seats, others came up to replace them, now Ben Gvir is back in government, the reverse has happened. Those that came up to the Knesset have gone, those who replaced Ben Gvir and Co in government returned to the Knesset.
Now, at the last set of Israeli elections in 2022, Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party and Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit ran on a joint ticket. As a result of this, when Avichai Eliyahu of Otzma Yehudit took his ministerial role, this vacated his Knesset position, which, under the Norwegian Law, saw a member of Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party take his place, a truly nasty piece of work called Zvi Sukkot.
Upon resigning from Netanyahu’s government, Eliyahu returned to the Knesset, pushed Sukkot out as is the convention, but apparently upon Eliyahu returning to government now though, ben Gvir and Smotrich have fallen out, because Ben Gvir is disputing Sukkot getting Eliyahu’s spot again, he wants another member of his own party in that spot. It is this, that has triggered Smotrich’s resignation, but arguably the split between Smotrich and Ben Gvir is the most harmful aspect of this to Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s government has always been a precarious alliance of extremists, held together only by their shared appetite for Palestinian suffering. But as the genocide in Gaza drags on, as international condemnation grows, and domestic discontent rises over the economy the failure to do what is obviously the easiest way to bring thr hostages home, which is through ceasefire and negotiation, the cracks are becoming impossible to ignore. Smotrich’s resignation, even if it is largely procedural, weakens Netanyahu’s parliamentary majority and emboldens other factions to make their own demands.
You see by resigning as Smotrich has, under that same Norwegian Law, he returns to the Knesset. It is largely procedural because his return to the Knesset pushes out an Otzma Yehudit MK, Yitzhak Kroizer, in a swipe across the bows at Ben Gvir, but, Smotrich has already filed to return to his ministerial positions, the moment his Knesset position is restored. He will then, undoubtedly, block the return of Kroizer to replace him, doing to Ben Gvir’s party, what Ben Gvir is trying to do to his. It is childish, toys being thrown out of the pram stuff between two pathetically cartoonish villains, trying to one up each other when the reality is they risk putting everyone out of power if the infighting grows.
Therefore the resignation of Smotrich is not really a resignation at all, he will be back within days. This is a game of far-right power struggles within Netanyahu’s government. Yet, it serves as a reminder that Netanyahu’s coalition is unsustainable. A government that sanctions genocide, empowers racists, and thrives on division cannot last. Its collapse would be a just outcome—one that Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir have all earned through their crimes and seem set to bring upon themselves.
If forced to choose, to ditch Ben Gvir and his party, would not collapse the government, but it would sow divisions amongst the hard right settlers, if Otzma Yehudit are thrown out of government to keep Smotrich and Religions Zionism on side, who’s departure would collapse the government. It isn’t altogether clear if this is something that could even be forced, given that both parties stood on that joint ticket. It is one thing for Ben Gvir to voluntarily go and take his party with him, but to be forced out might cause a constitutional crisis. It might not be that simple, it could be what ends up finishing Netanyahu’s regime, that they are so evil, they destroy themselves and there would be a certain poetic justice to that.
It's not for us to simply look away or stand by in the hope that this news offers the possibility of Israel’s extremist government tearing itself apart. Instead, we must amplify the voices of those demanding justice for Gaza, an end to apartheid, and a future where Palestinian lives matter and we take a step closer to that if Netanyahu’s corrupt government dump themselves out of power and lose the protections they put in place for themselves through the abuse of that privilege. The downfall of this coalition should be celebrated if it happens, but not because Israeli politics will magically improve, because that isn’t likely to happen is it? But because the architects of genocide are finally facing the consequences of their own hubris and it can’t happen soon enough. Shall we break out some popcorn in the hope of increased bad blood between Ben Gvir and Smotrich or is it too early to say? Do let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Meanwhile, if internal divisions aren’t of enough concern to Benjamin Netanyahu, then the Houthis firing missiles and drones now seemingly capable of completely evading air defences like the Iron Dome ought to be, or is it just a case of Israeli air defences are still sub par from before the gaza ceasefire? Perhaps they should have invested in that instead of invading the West Bank? Check out that story in this video recommendation here as your suggested next watch. Please do also hit like, share and subscribe if you have not done so already so as to ensure you don’t miss out on all new daily content as well as supporting the channel at the same time whih is very much appreciated and I will hopefully catch you on the next vid. Cheers folks.