Crisis at heart of Israeli regime deeper than crisis in heart of Netanyahu

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

In a tweet laced with sharp wit and profound wisdom, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani on Sunday linked the simmering crisis gripping the Israeli regime with the health condition of the regime premier.

“There are reports that doctors have implanted a pacemaker in the heart of the prime minister of the Zionist regime,” Kan’ani wrote, referring to Benjamin Netanyahu’s dramatic health scare and surgery.

“But it is clear that the crisis at the heart of the Zionist regime is deeper than the crisis in the heart of its prime minister,” he hastened to add, pointing to the gravity and magnitude of the crisis.

The emergency heart procedure came as months-long protests against the crisis-stricken regime in Tel Aviv reached a fever pitch with hundreds of thousands pouring into the streets and seeking answers.

As irate protesters upped the ante, seizing the airport and blocking major highways, Netanyahu’s health deteriorated dramatically and he had to be admitted to a hospital for heart pacemaker implantation, adding a new dizzying twist to the fate of the regime’s uncertain future.

The ailing premier clearly didn’t see it coming and perhaps thought the illegitimate, apartheid, child-murdering regime was invincible. He thought he could crush the anti-regime rebellion the way he and his predecessors have been trying to crush Palestinians for decades, albeit without much luck.

Let’s get this straight. The so-called “plan to overhaul the judicial system” is not the main issue here. These protesters are in the streets because the illegitimate regime has been unable to gain legitimacy, both inside and outside, and they do not feel safe or secure in the occupied territories anymore.

They are protesting because Netanyahu and his predecessors have failed them. They were promised safe sanctuary by the Zionist leaders but the regime is already facing an existential crisis, teetering on the verge of collapse and extinction amid the all-encompassing rise of the Palestinian resistance.

They are angry because the young and extraordinarily brave generation of Palestinians has taken up the cudgels and vowed to reclaim their occupied land, the stolen orchards, and the deserted homes. The men and women protesting in Tel Aviv clearly do not expect the regime to come to their rescue.

Netanyahu loves hollow rhetoric, threatening the Islamic Republic of Iran and the resistance axis, but deep down he is a chicken-hearted ruler who feels intimidated by the sight of protesters and cannot muster the courage to face them. He knows what they want – his unconditional, immediate ouster.

But, that’s not all. Protesters want Netanyahu and his minions to come clear on the fate of the regime and where it is headed – clearly in the dustbin of history. That’s not something Netanyahu or his far-right ministers like to admit.

The Israeli regime leaders have so far lived in denial about the existential crisis, about the fact that the Palestinian resistance has grown by leaps and bounds and is prepared to liberate the occupied lands.

It has been on full display in recent months in the Gaza Strip and in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, with the occupying forces and illegal settlers getting a harsh reality check.

And these people, who refuse to leave the streets now, have all these years been fed lies about the regime’s invincibility. That balloon has bursted now, giving heartache to Netanyahu.

Even polls have not been in Netanyahu’s favor, compounding his worries. A Channel 13 poll in April showed his Likud Party garnering only 20 Knesset seats compared to 32 in November if elections.

The embattled premier had gone to the Sea of Galilee on Friday, to escape the scorching summer heat and the fury of anti-regime protesters, but he couldn’t escape the anxiety and fear residing in his heart.

Some Israelis have unsurprisingly taken to Twitter in recent days, questioning “lies about his health”, which they claim are “only the latest in a lifelong string of falsehoods, incitement, & manipulations.”

Even Haaretz reported that Netanyahu's doctors admitted his cardiac arrhythmia had already been detected last week, rebuffing an initial statement that no irregular heartbeat was detected.

Meanwhile, even as Netanyahu is recovering from his surgery, protests rage on with demonstrators on Sunday lining up in front of the Knesset building in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.

A tent city has come up in the area around the Knesset as legislators begin the debate on the so-called “judicial plan” in which a vote is expected on Monday.

Irrespective of the vote and the outcome of the plan, the regime has reached a dead-end.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

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