Netanyahu under fire
The sound of a fist banging on a table came through sharp and clear as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his anger captured on a leaked audio tape, berated his own party members for not having his back in confronting a wave of attacks on Israelis.
"I expect support from each and every one of you and not these games . Be leaders. Leaders do the right thing, don't play games," Netanyahu said in the recording broadcast on Army Radio. He was referring to public remarks and visits several Likud ministers made to a protest tent that settlers, demanding stronger security measures, erected outside Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem.
It was only one signal of possible political trouble ahead for the four-term leader trying to stem an eruption of almost daily knife and gun attacks by Palestinians, which have killed eight Israelis in the past three weeks.
At least three polls have shown an overwhelming majority of the public is dissatisfied with Netanyahu's handling of the violence.
It is a jolting reversal for the man many supporters have long hailed as "Mr Security" and who enjoyed wide public backing during last year's Gaza conflict.
The death toll among Israeli civilians in this wave of attacks is already higher than it was from rockets during that war and Netanyahu has admitted there is no quick fix.
Though his coalition government's majority of just a single seat in parliament seems safe for now - Israeli parties traditionally do not walk out during security emergencies - cracks are already visible.
"As of now it is not in the interest of anyone in the coalition to break up the government," Amnon Abramovich, a political analyst for Israel's Channel Two television, said. "But this can definitely change."
A Channel Two poll on Saturday found 71% of the Jewish public is dissatisfied with Netanyahu's handling of the security situation.
Only 17% of those polled considered him the best person to resolve the crisis, placing him second to former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, an ultranationalist picked by 29%. Lieberman has called for tougher action such as the death penalty for Palestinians who kill Israelis.
Amit Segal, a Channel Two political correspondent, said: "People say: 'If terror attacks happen on a daily basis, on an hourly basis and if he can't handle the situation . why would we elect him again?' and that's the main threat on Netanyahu's position."
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