Has Netanyahu reached the end of the road?

Andrew TillettForeign affairs, defence correspondent

Since its foundation in 1948, Israel’s survival has depended on its ability to fight on multiple fronts.

But for the great survivor of Israeli politics, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, events of the past fortnight have fuelled speculation that “Bibi” is reaching the end of his road as international and domestic pressures grow.

The killing this week of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six colleagues in an airstrike as they tried to transport food to starving Gazans has drawn heavy flak from normally staunch allies Australia, Canada the US and UK, whose citizens were also among the victims.

Outraged US President Joe Biden told Netanyahu that ongoing US support for the war on Hamas hinged on Israel’s willingness to minimise civilian casualties, alleviate humanitarian suffering and protect aid workers.

The terse phone call worked: on Friday morning, Israel approved the reopening of a major crossing between northern Gaza and Israel to deliver more aid to Palestinians.

And the global condemnation over the aid workers’ death prompted that rarest of things from Israeli officials: an apology.

“This could prove to be a real tipping point for countries like Australia and Canada which have been pushing Israel on these matters, because this incident seems to be in complete defiance of United Nations Security Council and the International Court of Justice ruling,” says Australian National University international law expert Don Rothwell.

On a human level, it was obvious Frankcom’s death deeply affected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. At his press conference on Wednesday announcing Samantha Mostyn as the next governor-general, Albanese struggled to keep his emotions in check as he spoke about Frankcom.

Politically, though, Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong were able to significantly sharpen their criticism of Israel, after months of pressure from the Greens and Muslims to take a harder line.