In Netanyahu's service: Yair Golan might harm Eizenkot's campaign

The severe terror attack in the area of Havat Gilad, which claimed the lives of two of its residents, has once again brought the situation in the West Bank to the top of the agenda. The condemnations were not long in coming, and it was promised that new measures would be taken to prevent the recurrence of such attacks. The one who deviated from the standard line of condemnation was the chairman of the Democrats, Yair Golan, who tweeted: 'One must regret the loss of human life, Israeli and Palestinian.' In the current political climate, this is a statement that is hard to digest for large parts of the people.

The tweet may harm Gadi Eizenkot's efforts to accustom the public to the possibility that MK Mansour Abbas will be a legitimate partner for a Zionist government that will rely on a majority of 61 Knesset members. In his quiet way, it seemed that Eizenkot would succeed in this, as part of a long social process of 'whitewashing' Abbas and Netanyahu after the October massacre.

Just about three years ago, it seemed that two completely different political figures, coming from different sectors and backgrounds — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ra'am party chairman Mansour Abbas — had become symbols of an 'unacceptable personality.' Netanyahu's political rivals saw him as primarily responsible for the massacre and said that one must not cooperate with him under any circumstances. A significant portion of his supporters, including the most die-hard ones, said after the massacre that he should go home due to his responsibility for the events.

Following the events of October 7 and the war, the people moved to the right — and along with it, the possibility of dialogue with the leaders of the Arab public moved away. Abbas is perceived by large parts of the Jewish public as someone who cannot be a legitimate partner in any government. Even the fact that he denounced the criminal acts did not help him. Here and there he stuttered when asked questions regarding Hamas and Gaza. That was enough to turn him into a kind of collaborator who has no right to be among us.

It turns out again that politics has its own rules. About three years have passed since that terrible event, and before our eyes, a kind of turnaround is taking place.

As the elections approach, parties and figures who in the past ruled out any possibility of sitting with Netanyahu are returning to speak the language of interests, of the need for unity, and of the importance of the voter's decision. They credit him for the achievements of the war and avoid mentioning that the war has not been decided and that it involved many casualties. By the way, a statement like that of Yair Golan only helps Netanyahu and provides him with ammunition for the election campaign. In any case, the political boycott has cracked.

Even those die-hard supporters who swore to me that Netanyahu should retire are now saying: 'Show us another leader of his magnitude.' One of them even said: 'Don't be mistaken. I am not voting for Likud, I am voting for Bibi.'

A similar movement is happening in parallel around Mansour Abbas. After a period when the thought of partnership with Ra'am was presented as treason, more and more voices in the political system, from the right and the left, are willing to return and see him as a legitimate political player — whether for the purpose of establishing a minority government that will rely on Ra'am's abstention, or through its participation in the government, if the parties of change achieve a Zionist majority of 61 Knesset members.

Abbas himself declared that he would prefer a government led by the current opposition, but added that he leaves an opening for political cooperation depending on the election results. He can also easily sign the tweet by Golan.

Of course, the status of Netanyahu — a veteran prime minister, with a broad base of support, standing at the head of a ruling party — is not similar to that of Abbas. Abbas stands at the head of a small party representing the Arab public, which maintains contact with the Shura Council, from which he promised to disconnect but has not yet done so. The reasons for the renewed legitimacy of the two are also not similar.

With Netanyahu, it is about broad popular support, the fact that he brings more mandates to Likud than any other candidate, and his ability to form a government. In the case of Abbas, it is about a simple political realization that, in light of past experience, he can certainly be a pragmatic partner for forming a government.

As is known, Israeli politics loves to declare absolute red lines, but when reality changes — the red lines move too. The reason for this is that Israeli politics is driven less by ideology and principles and more by the ability to form a coalition and reach the magic number: 61 mandates. The upcoming polls will show if Golan's tweet harmed the chances of the change bloc.