EU diplomats “surprised” by Netanyahu’s lack of control over his coalition

March 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Several European diplomats have shown their “surprise” at what they consider the inability of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to control his government partners.

“We don’t see the control behind the scenes that he led us to believe he has,” a European official told The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity.

This diplomat has highlighted the power that some of the far-right partners have in the Israeli government, such as the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, or the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich.

“It is possible that we have not fully appreciated the control and influence that Ben Gvir and Smotrich could have over him (Netanyahu),” said the diplomat consulted.

A second official has pointed out that “it seems that there is less control than initially thought: “Policies and rhetoric are accelerating the negative trends,” he added.

“Netanyahu, who built his entire campaign to restore security, is now seeing the security situation get out of hand,” said a third European official, adding that “there is a general feeling that the most coalition extremists have triggered a certain sense of immunity within the more radical settler communities.”

Another European diplomat has indicated that they trust “that the prime minister can personally handle the situation”, since he considers “that the current situation is not out of the average level of tension”.

These comments come after an increase in violence in the West Bank, during which hardline lawmakers have openly rebelled against the prime minister’s policies and his attempts to put out the flames, reports the aforementioned newspaper.