Israel’s Netanyahu faces multiple crises amid protests, rocket strikes

Late Saturday into early Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces said six rockets were fired from Syria toward Israel, and that three of them had crossed into Israeli territory. The IDF retaliated with drone and artillery strikes, including on what it said were the launchers that had fired the munitions.

Tensions rose again overnight as Palestinian worshippers barricaded themselves inside of al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City — one of Islam’s holiest sites — just days after clashes with Israeli police at the site. The government of Jordan, which oversees the site, suggested it would not remove people from the mosque, citing their right to worship there. It said that Israeli forces emptying the space would foment more violence. Israel’s Foreign Ministry had earlier called on Jordan to “immediately remove” the worshippers, alleging that they were “planning to riot” on Sunday during prayers.

The weekend’s rocket fire came after Netanyahu’s cabinet voted unanimously on Friday in favor of limited strikes on Lebanese territory.

But even as both sides appeared to de-escalate, tensions flared again quickly by Friday evening, this time domestically, as two British Israeli sisters were shot dead in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley and an Italian national was killed in Tel Aviv when a resident of the majority-Arab city of Kafr Qassem rammed his car into a crowd of tourists.

On Saturday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, according to a Pentagon readout of the call, and “underscored his support for Israel’s security against all threats.”

“Secretary Austin also urged steps to ensure calm and a peaceful holiday period for Jews, Muslims, and Christians,” the readout said, adding that he “welcomed efforts to de-escalate tensions and emphasized the importance of refraining from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions.”

Netanyahu returned to office late last year as part of a new governing coalition, the most right-wing and religiously conservative in Israel’s history. The response from the coalition’s leading players this week underscored just how delicate his position has become, as the more-extreme figures on whom he depends to govern call for harsher action.

Israel’s decades-long conflict stems back to the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into Arab and Jewish states after the anti-Jewish atrocities during World War II. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced in the war that followed the partition, and the territory today is divided into the state of Israel and the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Since the new government took office in December, violence has surged in the West Bank, in particular, as Jewish settlers there have stepped up attacks against Palestinian residents and Israeli security forces carry out increasingly deadly raids targeting a new generation of Palestinian militants.

Bezalel Smotrich — a settler leader and high-ranking member of Netanyahu’s cabinet — said Friday that his willingness to tolerate action that does not include more extreme measures in the territories was waning. The government has already accelerated a demolition program targeting the homes of terror suspects, a move that policy rights groups have described as collective punishment.

“The fact that checkpoints around [the West Bank city of] Nablus are open is an intolerable crime,” said Smotrich, who has administrative powers over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, in a message to supporters cited by the Times of Israel.

“We’ve been speaking about this for weeks. I try very hard to be loyal in outward appearances and not attack the government I am a member of, but it can’t continue like this,” he said.

Gallant on Saturday ordered the IDF to extend a closure on crossings into Israel from the West Bank and Gaza, despite previous announcements indicating that restrictions on movement would be eased during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The move will prevent Palestinian residents from praying at the al-Aqsa mosque. Israeli police stormed the compound on Wednesday and Thursday night, wounding more than 40 worshipers and arresting hundreds more. Police said that ‘youths’ had locked themselves inside the mosque, and then thrown firecrackers and stones as officers broke into one of the main prayer halls.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a former settler activist and lawyer for settlers accused of violently attacking Palestinians, also criticized the government Thursday, this time for not responding more forcefully to the cross-border rocket attacks.

“I have a certain influence, but it’s certainly not enough, and I often find myself frustrated by certain decisions,” he wrote on Facebook — although news reports covering his comments also pointed out the unanimity of the decision by the security cabinet, of which he is a member.

The government has been mired in crisis since it took office four months ago, primarily over a controversial plan to weaken the Supreme Court by overhauling the country’s judiciary. After months of furious street protests, Netanyahu announced in March that he was pausing his legislative push.

But on Saturday, the protests resumed as tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv and outside Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s residence in Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, the rally began with a minute’s silence in honor of the victims of Friday’s attacks. In the center of the crowd, a group of demonstrators held up the Italian flag to commemorate Alessandro Parini, 36, who was killed in an attack Friday night.

“Since the government was sworn in, its leaders have been engaged in a judicial coup that is tearing the people apart, neglecting our security, damaging the economy, and harming Israel’s status in the world,” protest leaders said in a statement shared via WhatsApp. “During this current security escalation, the ministers have been busy inciting instead of fulfilling their roles.”

What to know about Israel’s protests and judicial overhaul

The judicial reform plan, which would give the government greater power to choose judges, including those presiding over Netanyahu’s corruption trial, has split the country. It has pitted liberal, secular Israelis against hard-liners and religious conservatives.

In recent weeks, hundreds of thousands rallied weekly in the streets and a brief wave of strikes threatened to bring public institutions to their knees. Ultimately, it was dissent from within the government’s own ranks that forced Netanyahu to press pause, after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that it was dividing the military, and was therefore a threat to national security.

Officially, Netanyahu fired Gallant the following day, but he still remains in position, a twist that tightens the bind in which the prime minister finds himself, analysts say. Following through with the changes could stir more unrest, on the streets and in the military. But backing down could also draw more ire from within his coalition.

On Friday, Netanyahu and Gallant stood side by side at the site of the Jordan Valley attack as they vowed to catch the perpetrator. The slain sisters, Maya Dee, 20, and Rina Dee, 15, were residents of the West Bank’s Efrat settlement.

“For this challenge as well, we are standing united, unified, sure of our righteousness,” Netanyahu said in televised remarks. “We will act together with total backing for our forces.”

Ables reported from Seoul.