Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 09.04.2026
The publicist Salih Mustafa Kazdal claims that Prime Minister Netanyahu has run out of enemies, and he is looking for a new external threat because of his position in the election polls.
Benito Netanyahu has a problem that no media consultant can turn around: He has run out of enemies. This is what publicist Salih Mustafa Kazdal claims in an opinion column published Wednesday on the Türkiye Today website. According to him, ahead of the general elections in Israel, Netanyahu is pulling the only familiar rabbit out of his hat — looking for a new external threat. This time, that threat is Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kazdal analyzes Netanyahu’s political history, starting with his entry into the local arena in 1988 and his rise to prominence thanks to his polished media appearances during the 1991 Gulf War. According to the article, Netanyahu’s consistent strategy is based on creating a sense of danger, while presenting the elections as a struggle of “us versus them.”
For example, in the 1996 elections against Shimon Peres, Netanyahu framed the Oslo Accords as a tangible security threat and used pictures of Yasser Arafat to intimidate voters. In 2015, he turned to domestic threat rhetoric, warning on election day against “flocking Arab voters to the polls.” In 2019, Netanyahu repeated the method by claiming that a coalition headed by Benny Gantz would depend on the Arab parties, a move that, according to Turkey Hayom, made cooperation with Arab elected officials illegitimate.
Kazdal claims that Netanyahu’s situation is more complicated than ever. He is dealing with a criminal trial hovering over his head, and according to the author, he has lost most of the world’s public support following the war in Gaza and the growing conflict with Iran. The article accuses Israel of committing serious crimes in Gaza, and notes that Netanyahu’s pressure on the United States to join a direct confrontation with the Iranian leadership has led to a rift and the loss of support for Israel’s largest ally, especially against the backdrop of economic difficulties and inflation in the United States.
The publicist concluded that Netanyahu needs a bigger enemy to save his rule and divert the discussion from the loss of global support and his plunge in the polls. Türkiye, as one of the most prominent and influential political powers in the Middle East, was chosen to be the target to regain the votes of right-wing voters.
Although the analysis is generally correct, he ignores the fact that Netanyahu is pushing for a new intifada in the West Bank, which he will present as an existential danger to win the election or at least delay them.