24 hours to deadline for filing candidates lists for March 2 election and political neophyte Rafi Peretz now isolated with a shell of a party which was once Jewish Home and his pact to run with neo-Kahanist Ben Gvir. There’s a good chance they won’t pass the electoral threshold >
Netanyahu now petrified Jewish Home-Jewish Power will fail to enter next Knesset, costing his bloc 1-2 seats and making a majority even less likely. A wonderful irony since it’s all a result of his endless machinations to force the religious-right to join with the Neo-Kahanists >
Netanyahu will spend next 24 hours pressuring Bennett to agree to Peretz+Ben Gvir joining his religious-right list. He’s even threatening to fire Bennett from MOD if he refuses. Bennett so far isn’t budging. He doesn’t want to be tainted with Neo-Kahanism and this is Bibi’s mess>
All this speaks to Netanyahu’s desperation that he’ll stoop to anything to not lose the small Neo-Kahanist vote and if Bennett holds out (am betting he will), will be proof Netanyahu’s hold on the right-wing beginning to weaken. And there’s another right-winger in Bibi’s sights>
Netanyahu is pressuring his tame Knesset speaker Edelstein to refuse to convene the plenum, blocking the empaneling of a Knesset committee which will hold his immunity hearing before the election. Such a move would be unconstitutional and (probably) a step too far for Edelstein >
Once again, this is a mess Bibi made for himself. He requested immunity in an attempt to evade justice and not have his corruption trial overshadow the election. But the opposition mustered a majority to give him what he asked for and hold the immunity hearing immediately >
Edelstein tried to help Netanyahu block immunity hearing citing procedural issues, but the Knesset legal counsel ruled otherwise. Refusing to convene the Knesset plenum at the request of a majority of MKs would be unprecedented and lead to his replacement. He is loath to do so >
But Netanyahu, undeterred is doing everything to cajole Edelstein to refuse to convene the plenum, including getting his proxies to accuse the man who sat in the Gulag for teaching Hebrew of being “the son of a priest” and “stabbing Netanyahu in the back with a poisoned knife” >
Netanyahu has never been so desperate, so willing to slime and threaten his own ideological allies for not serving his narrow personal agenda and ultimately, so powerless to bend them to his will. Twilight of Bibi’s toxic reign.
