For one afternoon in the Knesset, Israelis received a lesson in why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has governed longer than any predecessor – and why he may survive politically even after the trauma of October 7.
During Monday’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee vote, opposition MKs from National Unity, Yesh Atid, and Yisrael Beytenu joined the coalition to advance Likud MK Avichay Boaron’s bid to expel Hadash–Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh from parliament.
The move, rooted in a January post in which Odeh compared Hamas terrorists to Israeli hostages, flew in the face of legal advice from the attorney-general and Knesset counsel, who said the “Removal Law” threshold for supporting terrorism had not been met.
Netanyahu’s critics handed him a gift. The committee’s 14–2 vote burnished his long-standing strategy of delegitimizing Arab lawmakers and depressing Arab turnout – an indispensable ingredient of his electoral dominance.
Even if 90 MKs ultimately back Odeh’s ouster, Israel’s High Court of Justice is likely to overturn the decision, allowing the prime minister weeks of headline-grabbing attacks on “disloyal” Arab representatives.
Meanwhile, the opposition fractured anew. The Arab blocs pledged a work boycott, furious that putative centrist allies had sided with the most hard-line coalition in Israel’s history. The episode highlighted an enduring truth: Netanyahu plays the conductor, while his rivals squabble over the sheet music.
Lapid’s misstep reinforcing Netanyahu's narrative
Opposition leader Yair Lapid endorsed the expulsion push despite warnings from campaign strategists that it would dampen Arab enthusiasm at the ballot box. By dancing to the coalition’s tune, Lapid reinforced Netanyahu’s narrative of a “deep-state” judiciary foiling the popular will.
If roles were reversed, Israelis know exactly how Netanyahu would behave; during the Bennett–Lapid government, he marshalled his right-wing bloc to vote with Arab MKs to topple the West Bank emergency regulations – without flinching at ideological compromises when power was on the table.
Eisenkot walks, Gantz wobbles
Hours after the committee drama, opposition cohesion absorbed another blow: Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot announced his departure from the National Unity Party. His split from Benny Gantz – who has already lost political partners Moshe Ya’alon, Yair Lapid, Gabi Ashkenazi and Gideon Sa’ar – further shreds the notion that Gantz can forge a unifying alternative to Netanyahu in the next election.
Political insiders say Shas chairman Arye Deri has quietly tested whether Gantz, wounded by Gadi Eisenkot’s exit, might again join Netanyahu’s government in exchange for a hostage deal, a Haredi draft compromise and a soft timetable for elections – all without the veto power of far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Can a new baton emerge?
Gadi Eisenkot is weighing a fresh political vehicle that could merge later with other parties. Lapid has hinted he would cede the top spot to the former general; ex-Meretz MK Yair Golan advocates a broad democratic front; former prime minister Naftali Bennett is courting from the liberal-right flank. Pollsters will test in the coming weeks whether Gadi Eisenkot can replace Gantz as the opposition’s presumptive candidate for prime minister.
Yet personalities alone will not solve the structural problem. As long as Netanyahu’s opponents refuse to harmonise – preferring ego trips, tactical racism and mutual intimidation – Israel’s longest-serving premier will keep setting the score, and the orchestra across the aisle will keep playing out of tune.