Netanyahu is Israel’s ‘Wizard of Oz’

Israel awoke to news of the US-Iran deal, brokered it seems without any Israeli input or involvement, which amounts to nothing more than a capitulation to Iran, none of the so-called war aims accomplished, and Israelis reeling in shock.

A pair of clowns and conmen whom the “mad mullahs” managed to run rings around.

Netanyahu burned the bipartisan approach to America, to bet the house on a man he described as the “greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House”, a man who threw Israel under the bus without the slightest hesitation.

We are left with a “deal” which leaves the regime standing, its nuclear material neither destroyed nor surrendered nor captured. A deal which does not even touch on its ballistic missile program. A deal which lifts sanctions and releases billions of dollars to the Iranian regime. A deal which endangers Israel’s security and at the same time ties our hands.

In short, an unmitigated disaster.

Meanwhile, Trump’s assertion that the US has achieved “total victory” rings hollower than ever: Hamas still standing, not disarmed, strengthening all the time and increasing its grip on Gaza; Hezbollah, despite boasts of it having been neutralised as a threat, is attacking the north with deadly drones killing soldiers on a daily basis; and the Iranian regime, emboldened with billions of dollars heading to their bank account and still committed to the annihilation of the Jewish state.

What a sh*tshow.

All this courtesy of Netanyahu, the man who saw fit to continue as prime minister despite facing trial on serious criminal charges. A man who, having betrayed or double crossed everyone he ever worked with, saw fit to bring into government the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir and elevated him to be in charge of the police.

He appointed the messianic madman, Bezalel Smotrich, minister of finance and effective “ruler” of the disputed territories.

He was mute while settlers run riot terrorising the local population in an attempt to drive them out. He stood by while multi-millions of shekels were diverted to the ever-expanding settlement project when the money was desperately needed elsewhere.

This is the man who is in cahoots with the Charedim, whom he bribes with ever more cash for everything from cradle to grave, while getting nothing in return except his own political survival. With a dire need of extra manpower in a time of war, he connives in the evasion of the draft by the Charedi sector. To add insult to injury, he has allowed the Charedim to riot on highways and cause unimaginable disruption to tens of thousands of Israelis, as they call the police “Nazis” and declare they would rather die than serve in the IDF.

A man who launched and ploughed on with an all-out assault on the judicial system for his own ends, despite warnings of the damage it was doing and the threat it posed. A man who has sowed division and made corruption endemic and destroyed integrity. A man who thought it smart to funnel millions in cash to Hamas through Qatar. A man who brought Qatari assets into the heart of government and retains their services even now.

Above all, a man whose arrogance and incompetence led to the catastrophe of October 7 and now fights tooth and nail to ensure the truth of his responsibility does not see the light of day.

I have been told so many times over the decade I have lived here that the man is a genius, a strong leader, the only man able to steer Israel. What complete nonsense. The reality is as it always has been: Netanyahu is Israel’s “Wizard of Oz”, projecting this all-powerful image swallowed by millions, but in reality, he’s a conman, a snake oil salesman, who has heaped disaster after disaster on this country and brought it internal chaos and international opprobrium.

Almost unbelievably: not only is Netanyahu still in power, he is projected to have the largest party in the election and is not without a chance of being returned to power!

If Israel has any chance of surviving into its second century, it must break this bizarre grip he seems to have on this place and rid itself of this malign presence once and for all.

If we don’t, we will deserve our fate.

Jeff Samuels KC is a retired senior barrister from Manchester, UK. He has lived in Israel for over 10 years.