Netanyahu and the Tel Aviv police chief
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Netanyahu and the Tel Aviv police chief refers to the July 2023 firing of Tel Aviv's police chief, which John Kiriakou read as the visible edge of the only fight he thought could bring down the Israeli government.

Where the threat comes from

Asked about Israel's trajectory under what he called the most right-wing extremist government in the country's history, Kiriakou named the danger to Benjamin Netanyahu precisely: "the only real threat to Netanyahu has nothing to do with the Palestinians. The threat is this takeover of the court system."

The dismissal was his evidence. "Yesterday, Netanyahu fired the chief of police of Tel Aviv. This guy is wildly popular and is seen as a moderate. And the reason why he was fired is he does not support Likud's takeover of the courts."

The miscalculation

Kiriakou credited Netanyahu's political instincts, "Netanyahu is a great politician. He can really read a crowd", and traced the delay of the judicial overhaul the previous April to a bet that the national strikes, which included police and members of the military, would subside.

The bet failed. "They haven't subsided. They've come roaring back. We saw a massive demonstration in Tel Aviv just a couple of days ago, a demonstration that was so big it actually shut down Ben Gurion Airport, the international airport."

His conclusion was conditional but pointed: "on this issue of what he's calling judicial reform, Netanyahu may have overstepped. If there's anything that maybe possibly might could take down the government, it would be that."

The ministers he names

Kiriakou set the government's character against the possibility of peace, naming Itamar Ben Gvir as minister of national security and Bezalel Smotrich as finance minister with military authority over the West Bank, men he described as "willing to commit war crimes," convicted of felony hate crimes against Palestinians and celebrating those who had committed crimes against humanity against them. "There's no hope for peace."

See also

- Benjamin Netanyahu
- The Israeli Electorate Shift
- The Jenin Incursion
