From a former commando, later nicknamed "Mr. Security", to a 12-year uninterrupted prime ministerial term, which earned him the title of "King Bibi", Benjamin Netanyahu marked an era of Israeli politics.

The Likud leader, relying on religious Zionists, has turned right-wing Israeli society during his longest term as prime minister, leaving power leaving behind a country as divided and polarized as ever in its history.

He has successfully promoted a whole new generation of conservative politicians, but he is solely to blame for turning his former partners against him. The three main architects of his downfall - the new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Gideon Saar and Avigdor Lieberman - could have remained his right-wing loyalists, who would not have turned Netanyahu into fierce opponents.

All of them from Bibi learned the skills of meandering on the fragmented terrain of Israeli politics, supported it and perhaps would continue to do so, lest the Prime Minister sell them at some point. "Netanyahu has been forced to leave simply because he lied and belittled too many political allies and supporters and because he broke too many promises," wrote Haaretz commentator Anshel Fefer.

Jair Lapid, the leader of the centrist party and the prime minister under the 2023 rotation agreement, was also a minister in Netanyahu's third cabinet, and if Likud leader had respected the agreement with Blue and White Coalition leader Benny Ganz, he would not have threw into the formation that overthrew him.

Generation change

Just as Likud ended the three-decade rule of the left-wing Labor Party in 1977, and Netanyahu became prime minister for the first time 25 years ago because he took control of the old Likudian card, now is the time for a new generation to try to oust him. Israel from a serious political and social crisis.

Netanyahu's problems with the law - three corruption cases filed against him - are not an insurmountable obstacle for now, given that they will take months, if not years. On the contrary, he turned many Israelis against him, trying at all costs to remain prime minister so that he could use his political power to stop the trials or secure a favorable outcome.

While ignoring protesters who had been gathering in Tel Aviv for weeks and in front of his residence in Jerusalem, he believed that as long as he was strong and on the offensive, his chances increased. Accusing the judicial system of "leftist conspiracy" and making himself a victim of the "deep state", he put his own interests above the interests of the state.

Opposition leader

Which does not mean that Netanyahu's career is over. The most powerful politician after David Ben-Gurion has not said his last word and promises to continue the fight from the opposition. After all, he did not lose the election to someone who received more votes than his Likud, and is still the leader of the party that has the largest number of deputies in the Knesset.

Behind him is a decade of economic prosperity, relied on by strengthening the private sector and the technology boom, drastically reducing the number of victims of terrorism, peace agreements with four Arab countries and the fastest vaccination against covid-19 in the world.

To critics, all of this is not enough to balance another legacy: a deeply divided country facing many schisms - left and right, religious and secular, Jewish and Arab. At the same time, without serious social reforms, an increasingly just country was created in which during Netanyahu's rule the number of Israelis living in poverty reached 21 percent.

Are all his achievements good for Israel? It maintains the status quo of prolonged occupation without readiness for a peaceful incursion into the Palestinians. Faithful to the view that Israel's place in the Middle East rests on power rather than compromise, he missed opportunities and contributed to Israel becoming significantly indifferent to the trauma of the Palestinians from the occupied territories, where Jewish colonization continues and peace ceases to be a topic. .

Friend of autocrats

He managed to shift the conflict to the margins not only of domestic but also of world politics. He rejected any serious concessions, openly stating that he had no intention of resolving them and giving the Palestinians their own state, as he had promised in 2009. Instead, it has fueled fears of Iran.

Netanyahu left for the inauguration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, entertained Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and sold weapons to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. As he approached authoritarian nationalists, he distanced himself from some European allies.

He's seriously strained relations with the Obama administration over the nuclear deal with Iran, and he worked so closely with Donald Trump's Republicans that traditionally eroded bipartisan support for Israel in Congress. Joe Biden had to wait two months for a call, while the White House chief called Bennett just two hours after his cabinet was voted on.

Unstable government

It is enough for the critics to rejoice, even though difficult times are ahead. The new government is made up of eight coalition partners from all possible sides of the ideological spectrum, so it is clear from the outset that it will avoid addressing the country's key challenges - most notably the Palestinian question and control of the West Bank. Bennett will be "half" prime minister for two years, and Lapid, if the cabinet survives, will succeed him in the same limited term. Neither will be able to do anything without the consent of the other, as both have a veto. Like the Roman consuls. Governance of compromises.

The last attempt at a rotation principle failed when Netanyahu formed a government a year ago, and his rival Benny Ganz waited in vain for his turn to sit in the prime minister's chair. Bennett and Lapid managed to oust Bibi from power in a joint operation, but it is quite possible that a new era is beginning in which Israel will have neither a natural ruling majority nor a truly strong prime minister.

"This government, led by right-wing politicians, a government that has no official agenda for the Palestinian conflict and is based on imaginary 'unity' and 'change' rather than substantive politics, is also Netanyahu's victory," Feffer said.

Indeed, someone who managed to rule Israel for 15 years is not a loser, even when in the end the charismatic Machiavellian, reckless pragmatist, uncompromising rightist, hardline nationalist and master of political marketing was forced to leave.

(The language in which they are written as well as the views expressed in the column "Columns" are not views and reflections of the editorial policy of "Free Press")