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Nathan Shachar: Netanyahu wages war against Iran, Hezbollah – and Israel's institutions
🇸🇪 Sweden /Elections & Politics

Nathan Shachar: Netanyahu wages war against Iran, Hezbollah – and Israel's institutions

From Dagens Nyheter · (5d ago) Swedish Critical tone

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to postpone his corruption trial, citing security concerns related to the conflict with Iran.
  • A new report from the Shin Bet security service suggests it would be dangerous for Netanyahu to attend court due to potential targeting by Iranian missile personnel.
  • Critics argue that Netanyahu is manipulating security agencies to control state institutions and avoid his trial, appointing loyalists to key intelligence positions.

From Jerusalem, this commentary in Dagens Nyheter dissects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ongoing legal battles and his strategic maneuvering within the Israeli security apparatus. The author, Nathan Shachar, posits that Netanyahu is not merely seeking to manage 'state affairs' but is actively waging a war against Israel's own institutions to evade his corruption trial.

When the war against Iran broke out, Benjamin Netanyahu escaped what he hates most of all: the mandatory presence during his now six-year corruption trial.

— Nathan ShacharThe author introduces the context of Netanyahu's trial and his attempts to avoid court appearances.

The narrative highlights how the Prime Minister, previously granted dispensations to skip court for 'state affairs' during the conflict with Iran, now faces a new 'security' hurdle. A report from the Shin Bet, the internal security service, claims it's too dangerous for him to attend court, a claim the author views with deep skepticism. The timing, coinciding with the resumption of trial proceedings after a pause, is seen as highly suspect.

The court, like many times before, gave him dispensation to handle 'state affairs'.

— Nathan ShacharExplaining how Netanyahu initially avoided his trial.

Shachar points to the recent change in Shin Bet leadership, with Netanyahu replacing the independent Ronen Bar with David Zini, who allegedly lacks intelligence experience and holds extremist nationalist views. Similarly, Netanyahu appointed his military secretary, Roman Gofman, to head Mossad, despite his lack of foreign intelligence expertise. These appointments, the commentary argues, are not accidental but part of a deliberate strategy to establish political control over intelligence agencies.

The reason? A new report from the security service Shabak (better known as Shin Bet) states that it would be dangerous for Netanyahu to be in a place where terrorists or Iranian missile personnel can know in advance that he is expected.

— Nathan ShacharPresenting the security service's justification for Netanyahu's absence from court.

This perspective from Dagens Nyheter suggests a worrying trend where the Prime Minister appears to be prioritizing his personal legal defense and consolidation of power over the integrity of Israel's democratic institutions. The article frames Netanyahu's actions as a calculated effort to undermine the judiciary and security services, potentially jeopardizing national security for personal gain. The author implies that while Western media might focus on the geopolitical implications of the conflict, the internal struggle for control over state apparatus is a critical, and perhaps more insidious, development within Israel.

What has changed is not the threat picture but Netanyahu's control over authorities and institutions.

— Nathan ShacharArguing that the security situation is not the primary reason for the trial postponement.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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