Netanyahu wants the public - or at least whatever undecided voters still - exist to think long and hard about that contrast.
By GIL HOFFMANBenny Gantz and Benjamin Netanyahu at swearing in of 21st Knesset(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already knew he had no majority for immunity from prosecution in his criminal cases 27 days ago, when Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman announced that his MKs would vote against it, minutes after Netanyahu submitted the request.So why did Netanyahu wait until 2:45 a.m. local time in Washington on Tuesday, ahead of his big day in which US President Donald Trump would announce his long-awaited “Deal of the Century” Middle East peace plan?And after Netanyahu made sure everyone knew he was the one to suggest to Trump to invite Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to Washington, why was it so important for him that he not be there for the ceremony itself?The answer is that Netanyahu wanted to contrive a contrast between the history he says he is making and the indictments pursued by Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit with Blue and White’s support.Netanyahu wants the public – or at least whatever undecided voters still exist – to think long and hard about that contrast.That was why Netanyahu initially wanted Gantz in the White House – but only inside the applauding crowd while he was on stage with Trump. Once it became clear that Gantz would not agree to that, Netanyahu made sure Gantz would be on his way to a useless meeting in the Knesset before he announced that he had rescinded his request for immunity.Likud spokesman Yonatan Urich said it must be depressing for Gantz to lose at chess to Netanyahu, and come with jet lag and 20 minutes of sleep to a Knesset meeting that ended up only being about immunity for Likud MK Haim Katz, instead of attending a once-in-a-century summit in Washington. He joked that his boss “has no heart.”Blue and White officials said it was no coincidence that the unveiling of the plan was set for the same day as the immunity vote in the Knesset plenum. Netanyahu wanted Gantz and the other MKs discussing immunity to look ridiculous to the public.Netanyahu also used that word – ridiculous – repeatedly in a released statement attacking Mandelblit for filing the indictment.“Their eagerness to file the ridiculous indictment against the prime minister is so great that they cannot even wait a single day for the historic summit in Washington that is one of the most important in the history of the state,” Netanyahu said through his associates.
If Mandelblit prevents Netanyahu from starting to implement the plan by blocking him from voting on applying sovereignty to part of the Jordan Valley as he did ahead of the September election, Netanyahu will run against him even more.But only up to a point. He still wants to postpone his trial as much as possible, and he certainly does not want it to start before the March 2 election.Netanyahu apparently already accomplished that by only requesting immunity on the final day of the 30 he had after his November 21 indictment, plus the 27 days since then. He owes a debt of gratitude to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein for helping him stall.He wants the headlines in the weeks ahead to be about both his efforts to implement Trump’s plan and his own indictment to emphasize that contrast. To that end, he intends to make many visits to Judea and Samaria, where he could be welcomed as a savior.In contriving his contrast, Netanyahu intends to make sure to always stay a step ahead.
