Benjamin Netanyahu is quite the long-lived politician. First elected to the office of Prime Minister of Israel in 1996, he has demonstrated astonishing longevity in the office, holding it for some 17 of the last 30 years. He has also demonstrated an appalling lack of concern for the people of Gaza, a tendency towards authoritarianism and a disregard for the will of the people in favor of his personal power. This indifference has caused him to continue prosecuting the war in Gaza with disastrous consequences for the people of Gaza and Israel.
One contributing factor to the continuation of the war in Gaza is the presence of far-right parties like Otzma Yehudit and the National Religious Party in Netanyahu’s coalition government, which is often described as among the most conservative in Israel’s history. The way parliamentary government works, the defection of parties in the governing coalition can bring down the government, leading to the formation of a new coalition or the start of a new election. This gives fringe members and parties in the ruling coalition in a parliamentary government significant leverage to push policies they want.
Fringe elements within Netanyahu’s coalition frequently utilize this leverage. In June 2024, two far-right Israeli ministers, Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, threatened to resign from the Israeli government if it did not continue the war in Gaza. Smotrich and Ben Gvir came out against a deal again in 2025, with Ben-Gvir stating, “Over the last year, through our political power, we have managed to block this deal from being executed time and again.” The far right’s leverage in the Israeli government is evident.
Now, a more altruistic person might take stock of the situation, noting the devastation of Gaza, the hostages that were taken nearly two years ago and the unpopularity of the war both in Israel itself and abroad. Such a person might willingly sacrifice their power to end a brutal war. But not the political creature that is Benjamin Netanyahu. Even as his government continues to commit genocide, and Israel’s place on the world stage becomes more and more tenuous, Netanyahu refuses to end the war because he is afraid to lose his power. Given Netanyahu’s history, this is not a surprise. He has a long track record of alleged corruption, particularly in the form of beneficial regulations or legislation in exchange for favorable news coverage in Israeli newspapers. In 2023, his government proposed judicial reforms that would have curbed the Supreme Court’s power to exercise judicial review and granted the government control over judicial appointments. Israelis heavily protested these reforms, and the Supreme Court itself eventually struck them down.
It seems that Netanyahu plans to maintain and extend his influence indefinitely. Presented with a continuous situation where each day, Netanyahu could end the war in Gaza and bring back the Israeli hostages at the expense of his power, he instead shut down negotiations to curry favor with the Israeli far-right. In doing so, he maintained his position as Prime Minister of Israel. It is also worth noting that such a move would have had plenty of benefits for Israel as a state, namely, the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, which the Saudis have indicated is contingent on a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
One scenario for the end of the war is the loss of Netanyahu’s governing majority in the 2026 Israeli parliamentary elections. The low Israeli public opinion of Netanyahu’s Likud party seems to signal an impending loss in those elections to a party that would pursue peace. However, it is essential to note that Netanyahu is an adept politician, whatever his moral failings. Often Trumpian in his criticism of the media and railings against a leftist “deep state,” it is entirely reasonable that Netanyahu could remain Prime Minister through the next election by means legitimate or otherwise. But as long as Netanyahu remains in power alongside the Israeli far right, the war in Gaza will not end.
Hope for an earlier end to the war in Gaza had previously fallen on the shoulders of the Trump administration, which, though it may have been surprising, made sense considering Trump’s attempts to appear as a promoter of peace. Pressure from within Israel can only go so far under a Prime Minister intent on staying in power. Pressure from outside Israel is, for the most part, ineffective. The exception to the rule is the U.S., where the government has continued sending offensive weapons to Israel. Unfortunately, recent news indicates that the Trump administration won’t help end the war anytime soon. Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House on Monday, Sept. 29. The result of the meeting was an agreement containing provisions that Hamas has publicly stated it will not accept, such as its removal from power and disarmament. Should Hamas not accept the deal, Trump said Israel would have his “full backing to finish the job” of destroying Hamas — actions that would see many, many more Palestinian civilians killed as Netanyahu continues to cling to power.
Contact Whittaker Perrin at wperrin@oxy.edu
