US intelligence report predicts ousting of Netanyahu’s coalition government in Israel

News, US March 12, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

An assessment report by the United States intelligence community suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “viability as a leader” is “in jeopardy” due to the public distrust of his strategy in Gaza. A declassified version of the annual report on national security threats was presented to the U.S. Congress on March 11, 2024.

“The public’s lack of confidence in Netanyahu’s ability to govern has deepened and expanded even more than before the war, and we are witnessing large protests demanding his resignation and holding of new elections. A different and more moderate government is a possible scenario,” the report, published by the Director of U.S. National Intelligence, stated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under intense scrutiny in Israel due to his government’s failure to anticipate or prevent the October 7 attack, during which Hamas, a terror group, claimed the lives of 1,200 Israelis and held 240 hostages.

Public opinion, as reflected in polls, indicates that many Israelis doubt whether Netanyahu’s extensive military retaliation, now in its fifth month, which has devastated Gaza and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, is the most effective strategy for rescuing the hostages.

Although the report emphasizes that the Israeli population is thoroughly in favor of Hamas’ destruction, it does not align with the policies that Netanyahu has adopted following the October 7 attacks.

Hamas may survive but Netanyahu would go

Washington and Tel Aviv have been at odds for weeks now regarding the ongoing war in Gaza as the U.S. and its allies are pushing for Israel to ceasefire with little success. “Israel probably will face lingering armed resistance from Hamas for years to come, and the military will struggle to neutralize Hamas’s underground infrastructure, which allows insurgents to hide, regain strength, and surprise Israeli forces,” the assessment reads.

*^{Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) in Jerusalem, on December 22, 2020. (Image Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Reuters)}*

The report also suggests that Iranian leadership, which the Israeli administration had been accusing of orchestrating the October 7 attack, did not have a direct role in executing the attacks on Israel. “Iranian leaders did not orchestrate nor had foreknowledge of the Hamas attack against Israel” on October 7, the report said, adding that both Israel and Iran are attempting to avoid all-out war, though conflict against Hezbollah could escalate.

The threat of terror attacks in US

FBI Director Chris Wray testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee on the same day as the report was released, stating that the threat of a terrorist attack in the U.S. “has escalated significantly” following the October 7 incident.

“Even before October 7th, I would have told this committee that we were at a heightened threat level from a terrorism perspective, in the sense that it’s the first time I’ve seen in a long, long time the threats from homegrown violent extremists, that is jihadist-inspired extremists, domestic violent extremists, foreign terrorist organizations and state-sponsored terrorist organizations all being elevated at one time,” Wray said in his testimony.

*^{U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry Regiment soldiers taking part in an exercise. (Image Credit: U.S. Army)}*

The Annual Threat Assessment report by the U.S. intelligence community serves as the cornerstone for the policy development of U.S. lawmakers, providing Congressional leaders with the chance to openly interrogate the nation’s foremost intelligence officials. It presents an unclassified overview of global perspectives on the array of national security challenges confronting the United States.