Two events and statements over a period of 24 hours last week aptly reflect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current political situation, along with his shattered plans and hopes.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump rebuked Netanyahu, using harsh language over the prime minister’s intention to bomb southern Beirut and hinder the American negotiations with Iran.

A few hours after that conversation, at a farewell ceremony for outgoing Mossad chief David Barnea, Netanyahu said that “the foundations of the terror regime in Iran have cracked. It will not go back to what it was, and it will ultimately fall.”

Netanyahu’s original plans were somewhat different, or at least tied to a very different timetable.

According to sources close to his office, who spoke to The Times of Israel on the condition of anonymity, the premier wanted to head into the general elections this fall with Iran’s ayatollah regime already collapsed and eradicated.

Such a historic change, Netanyahu believed — and still believes — would have overshadowed the events of the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023, and carried him to a massive election victory, with 40 seats for his Likud party and a clear path to another governing coalition.

That change in Tehran did not happen, and it is unlikely to happen, at least not anytime soon, despite Netanyahu’s lofty promises at the Mossad handover ceremony. Instead, Israel has become deeply entangled in Lebanon, and Netanyahu is quarreling with Trump, hearing from him that everyone hates both him and Israel.

Delaying until October

Under these circumstances, Netanyahu wants to hold the elections at the latest possible date, preferably October 20, so that perhaps something positive will happen on the diplomatic and security fronts, and so that his grand speeches about Israel as a regional superpower and a new Middle East forged by peace agreements will actually have some backing on the ground.

A later election date is crucial to Netanyahu, despite the heavy, traumatic connotations the month of October carries for Israelis. The prime minister believes that public narratives have long since been fixed, and that the memorial events planned for early October — marking three years since the massacre in Gaza border communities — will not sway voters from one political bloc to another.

The government itself is scheduled to mark the disaster on the national memorial day for the massacre on October 5. It is clear there will also be alternative, grassroots memorial ceremonies, just as there have been in the past two years.

Netanyahu may also orchestrate two major events in September that he hopes will leave a lasting impression on the Israeli public, including wavering right-wing voters.

One is the UN General Assembly, where Netanyahu wants to deliver an impressive, historic speech, as is his way. The second is a possible visit by Trump to Israel.

According to a source close to the prime minister, Trump had indeed planned to visit Israel this past May, but Netanyahu convinced him that a pre-election visit would be far more beneficial politically. And Trump truly wants to help Netanyahu, despite their recent friction and the harsh reprimand over the........

© The Times of Israel