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U.S. intelligence agencies are claiming that they “expect” protests to bring down the Israeli government and replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been an obstacle to President Joe Biden’s plans for the Middle East.
The claim emerged in the latest “Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community,” and was published by both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times Monday evening, suggesting a coordinated leak to the media.
The assessment says:
- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has publicly stated his opposition to postwar diplomacy with the Palestinian Authority (PA) toward territorial compromise.
- Netanyahu’s viability as leader as well as his governing coalition of far-right and ultraorthodox parties that pursued hardline policies on Palestinian and security issues may be in jeopardy. Distrust of Netanyahu’s ability to rule has deepened and broadened across the public from its already high levels before the war, and we expect large protests demanding his resignation and new elections. A different, more moderate government is a possibility.
Netanyahu was elected to his current term in office in November 2022 with a right-wing coalition that had the largest majority of any Israeli government in decades. His approval dropped during nationwide protests over his proposed judicial reforms, and in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 terror attacks, but recent polls suggest that his support has recovered, as he has led Israel to the edge of victory over Hamas while resisting international pressure.
Most important, there is no sign of division among the right-wing parties forming Netanyahu’s coalition. While some opposition parties have called for early elections, Netanyahu has successfully pushed back against the idea, noting that there is nothing Hamas and its Iranian sponsors would like more than to see Israel divided politically during the war. The next elections are scheduled for 2026, if the current government completes its allotted four-year term in office.
Netanyahu has withstood U.S. pressure to accept the Iran nuclear deal; to accept a Palestinian state as the outcome of the war — which he says would be a massive reward for Hamas; and to retreat from its own border in the face of missile attacks from Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists in northern Israel. As Breitbart News noted earlier Monday, reports have already emerged that the Biden administration is seeking Israeli consultants to help topple Netanyahu’s coalition.
Many observers have long suspected the Biden administration of working to bring down the Netanyahu government through a “color revolution.” A State Department-funded group was at the core of opposition to Netanyahu’s judicial reform, and then-Ambassador Tom Nides was described as the “arsonist-in-chief,” as he openly supported the Israeli opposition movement and the protests. President Biden also froze Netanyahu out, refusing to meet him for months.
Polls suggest that the vast majority of Israelis support Netanyahu’s positions — opposing a Palestinian state; backing the continuation of the war until Hamas’s complete defeat; and preparing for possible war against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Polls also indicate that the vast majority of Americans support Netanyahu’s approach to the war — and oppose Biden’s approach, which has sought to appease terror and dissenting left-wing and Muslim-American voters.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
