For two years, they were impressed by him and applauded him for drawing the lessons from his first term in office, which ended when he was kicked out as result of public revulsion. Ministers, Knesset members and journalists said that he turned into a fox, a seasoned politician who knows how to put out fires even before they erupt; one who knows how to appease everyone in order to maintain the coalition and the government. Benjamin Netanyahu, a distinguished scholar.

Yet it now appears that all at once, within two weeks or so, everything started to crumble around him. The members of his government and faction are no longer scared of him. They see the fury on the streets, read the headlines, examine the polls and smell the blood. And when politicians reach that point, they start to pull out the knives and talk, either openly or on behalf of “senior sources.” They speak and attack, criticize and disparage.”

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