Zev Chafets, Columnist

Could Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party Be His Achilles’ Heel?

Rebels in the Israeli prime minister’s own party are mounting a rebellion just as he faces a corruption trial and new elections. 

Looking over his shoulder.

Photographer: ABIR SULTAN/AFP
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On March 23, 2021, Israel will hold a national election. It will be the fourth in two years and, like the others, it will be a referendum on a single question: Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under indictment on charges of fraud, corruption and breach of trust, fit to lead the country?

In previous elections a narrow plurality of voters has answered in the affirmative, enabling Netanyahu to build and run a governing coalition. Recent polls show that the 202l election will be similarly close.