Israeli newspaper Haaretz said on Friday that the latest Israeli war on the Gaza Strip had damaged the image of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the eyes of the Israelis.
In its Hebrew copy, the newspaper said: “Netanyahu has sought recently to show himself as the man of the national security and the only one who is able to save the Jewish nation from a new holocaust to be carried out by nuclear Iran, but in reality he is seen as the opposite by the Israelis.”
The newspaper stated that after the war on Gaza, Netanyahu’s image was damaged. “Despite his current warmongering remarks regarding the situation in Jerusalem, the Israelis feel doubtful about him,” the newspaper added.
Amos Harel, military analyst for the newspaper said: “The major shake in Netanyahu’s image was the 51-day summer exchange of attacks with Hamas which had no decisive end.”
All these were added to the ongoing “dilemmas” in Jerusalem and the West Bank, which were described by Harel as the “most dangerous” as 11 have been killed in these attacks.
Harel said, “However, Netanyahu was acting responsibly and with full self-control during the summer war [on Gaza], but he is facing difficulties in marketing his image as a saviour.” Harel noted that Netanyahu’s image suffered a “fateful” blow during the prisoners’ swap with Hamas in 2011.
Regarding the middle of the political map, Harel said that the war on Hamas revealed the gap between Netanyahu’s “credible” remarks and the difficulties with his actions on the ground.
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