Neri Zilber
@NeriZilber · Israeli English-language press & book authors
Neri Zilber covers Israel for the Financial Times and is an adjunct fellow of the Washington Institute.
You can also add to the list Dan Illouz (formerly Likud, recently jumped to Liberman's party). Zeev Elkin + Sharren Haskel are now also finished politically, after jumping to the coalition/Likud in 2024 alongside Gideon Saar. Bibi is the most talented politician of his age. But also the luckiest. You can't pick your rivals, including inside your party.
With party registration lists now closed for upcoming Israeli election, the political careers of 5 (formerly) senior Likud officials are now pretty much over. Avi Dichter, Nir Barkat, Gila Gamliel, Yuli Edelstein. Yoav Gallant also resigned from Knesset after getting sacked as defense minister Nov '24. They enabled much of the madness of past 3.5 years, likely against their own values & judgement (in certain cases waiting until it was too late) - all at the altar of Bibi. Netanyahu's coalition won 64 seats in last election. If these 5 had made a move - even prior to 10/7 - things could have been very different.
Marco Rubio, yday: "The President has expressed this in the past: We don’t want to see anything destabilizing going on right now in the West Bank with so much going on in the region. We think it has implications as well on our ability to make progress with regards to Gaza and the 20-point plan and Board of Peace that we’re very committed to... We share the goal of stability. We don’t want to see some uptick in violence or an uptick in conflict or tensions in the West Bank at a very tenuous time in the region."
It'll get lost amongst the other 3 steps taken by the Netanyahu govt against the UK but the British Support Team (BST) in Ramallah now being expelled will be sorely missed. BST was the primary deputy to the (old) US Security Coordinator mission - coordinating with the IDF & training the PA Security Forces. Not that this Israeli govt cares, but this mission has - for nearly 2 decades - helped maintain security/stability on the West Bank.
Ahead of the UK announcement today banning trade with West Bank settlements - and Israel's likely response - our story from last week on how UK-Israel ties have reached their lowest point in decades. "This could escalate and escalate and there’s no one to stop the slide." https://t.co/FMLoag08cz
The best state of play you'll read about what's happening on the US-Iran front. @cornishft @FT "If Trump thinks that he can get away just with economic warfare, that’s not going to be the case. The Iranians would drag him back into a hot war." https://t.co/VLYKDp4aFA
🎧Latest #IsraelPolicyPod w/ @dahliasc on the Israeli election campaign: —Reporter's Notebook (new segment) —What are the polls telling us? —Yoav Segalovich + Raam merger —Eisenkot's rise —Bibi's headache unifying the far-right + more. Listen here: https://t.co/eRC87k8Phi
In Israel, a party must garner 3.25 per cent of the vote to secure four seats in the 120-seat parliament. Below that number, the party gets zero seats and its votes are voided. Over half a dozen parties have been hovering around this threshold in recent polling, with most of the parties — and votes — at risk on the right.
Benjamin Netanyahu pushes to unite far-right vote before Israeli election in October Major public campaign by the PM ahead of crunch deadline to register parties next week. It could make-or-break the entire election - but his junior partners are so far resisting. My story @FT https://t.co/yCmPbftY7h
Andy Burnham is set to announce new sanctions on West Bank settlements in the coming days, Israel vows there will be a "response". “This could escalate and escalate and there’s no one to stop the slide.” How UK-Israel relations reached their worst point in decades. Me + @PickardJE @FT https://t.co/FMLoag08cz
Yoav Segalovich: "The common refrain that following October 7 it is impossible to maintain a political partnership with Arab parties is absurd and false. There is baggage from the past, there is a bloody history in relations within this land. We will not change the past because it is a set fact. The role of leadership is to change reality and create a better future." -- Segalovich - a former senior police commander, deputy internal security minister, a Jewish Israeli and a Zionist - just joined the Arab-Israeli Islamist Raam party tonight, led by Mansour Abbas ahead of Oct 27 elections.
Scoop: Israel is considering expelling British officials from postwar Gaza's coordination center, as retaliation against the Burnham government. Additional European countries may also be included in future. Holland & Spain have already been ejected. Me + @PickardJE + @AmyKazmin @FT https://t.co/rMgS9ZHQEw
Exclusive: Israel is considering expelling British officials from the postwar Gaza coordination center as retaliation against the Burnham government’s toughening positions. Germany and Italy may be next as well. Our story @FT https://t.co/RYwltIIHOK
There is an ongoing attempt, on a daily basis, by the Netanyahu government to light the West Bank on fire ahead of Oct 27 elections. Stymied in Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza by Trump, Bibi thinks this will help him politically. IDF - in both omission & commission - is allowing it. Only actor than can put a stop to it is POTUS himself.
As with Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and the West Bank the only way to actually move this Netanyahu govt on policy is directly via Pres Trump tweet or comment. Senior envoys, ambassadors and spox are ignored.
Israel's opposition, civil society & much of the public are worried over the lengths to which Benjamin Netanyahu may go to avoid losing power in the upcoming October elections. These are the scenarios - before, during and after election day - and how they're preparing. My story @FT
Connected stories
- Sharren Haskel Submits Israel First Slate and Confirms Independent Run
- Candidate-List Registration Closes for Israel’s October 27 Election
- Israel Orders UK Consulate Closure, Ends British Gaza and PA Roles
- Trump Calls Iran Conflict ‘Small Potatoes,’ Agrees With Vance It Is Not a War
- New Poll Puts Eisenkot at 24 Seats, Likud at 23 as Otzma Slips to 8
- Segalovitz Joins Ra’am as First Jewish Candidate, Taking No. 2 Slot
- Poll Puts Netanyahu and Eisenkot Blocs in 53-Seat Tie
- Poll Puts Eisenkot at 24 Seats, Likud at 21 and Winter at Four
- New Poll Puts Ofer Winter Below Threshold, Right-Wing Bloc at 63
- Israel Weighs Removing British Officials From U.S.-Led Gaza Center