GUIDANCE

Who Would Replace Netanyahu?

Mar 7, 2018 | 18:57 GMT

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 14, 2018.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 14, 2018. Israeli police have recommended that Israel's attorney general bring corruption charges against Netanyahu.

(JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • The pillars of Israel's security-focused foreign policy are unlikely to change no matter who is leading the country.
  • Political turmoil will result from the multiple corruption investigations against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the electoral attitudes of Israelis are unlikely to yield a significantly different government, no matter what happens to Netanyahu.
  • Netanyahu's relationship with the United States, Israel's main security backer, is one means by which he is working to ensure his political relevance at home and is particularly important with the Iran nuclear deal in flux.

The political drama simmering at the highest levels of government in Israel could reach a boiling point soon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces multiple allegations of corruption that could force him to resign, face early elections or stand trial. Last month, Israeli police recommended that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit indict Netanyahu for fraud, bribery and breach of trust. Since then, key Netanyahu allies have come forward as potential witnesses while police have added evidence to their investigations. Although the government around Netanyahu so far remains intact, his ability to finish the remaining 20 months of his term as prime minister is becoming less and less likely, raising questions about who might succeed him and what effect a new prime minister might have on Israel's security policy....

Subscribe to view this article

Subscribe Now

Subscribe

Already have an account?