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What Is Netanyahu’s Game Plan?

Israel’s prime minister is under indictment. A third election is on the way. If his allies don’t make him stand down, we are headed for chaos.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel during a meeting with a right-wing bloc of the Knesset on Wednesday.Credit...Gali Tibbon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Contributing Opinion Writer

TEL AVIV — Israelis who enjoy political drama just had a great week. Israelis who care about the future of their country, not so much.

On Nov. 20, Benny Gantz, the head of the Blue and White party, announced that he had failed to form a governing coalition. This came weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party had failed at the same task. For the first time in Israel’s history, two prospective prime ministers had been tasked with forming a government and neither succeeded. Israel will now have its third general election in a year.

The next day came another bombshell. In another first in the history of Israel, the attorney general indicted a sitting prime minister. The three cases against Mr. Netanyahu include allegations of him receiving from associates gifts and other favors, including positive media coverage, in exchange for exercising his influence for their benefit.

A political process and a legal process reached their crescendos at the same time, thrusting Israel into a new period of uncertainty and crisis.

The right way out of this sorry situation is for Mr. Netanyahu’s party and his allies to step up — and tell the prime minister it is time to step down.

Mr. Netanyahu is a fighter. He won’t admit guilt and he won’t surrender his office. I have to admire his determination. But I also wonder about his game plan. Dragging Israel into a third election after twice failing to form a government is bad enough. Dragging Israel into a third election with an indictment hanging over him is worse. Even if Mr. Netanyahu did win more seats on his third try, it’s unclear whether the president can task an indicted candidate with forming a government. Of course, there is also a possibility Likud will lose many seats because of the indictment. But for Mr. Netanyahu’s rivals to form a coalition without Likud or its allies, the losses would have to be huge — and most pollsters see that as unrealistic.

The legal situation is murky. According to the written law, a prime minister has no obligation to resign until a court convicts him. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he can be re-elected and reappointed. The attorney general may state that Mr. Netanyahu can stay for now, but also that the president, after another election, is forbidden from handing Mr. Netanyahu the mandate to form a government. Such a verdict would surely be challenged and, ultimately, decided in court.

If the courts force Mr. Netanyahu out, it will only add fuel to a vicious campaign of leaders and legislators who believe — not entirely without reason — that Israel’s legal system has too much power and is too involved in making decisions that belong in the political arena. This, in turn, will contribute to a dangerous process in which Israelis on the right (a majority of Israelis are right of center) lose their trust in the legal system.

And if the courts let Mr. Netanyahu keep his job, and even try to get it back after another election, Israel is really stuck. Polls published in recent days indicate that a third election does not seem likely to alter the political picture. Mr. Netanyahu and his bloc of right-wing and religious parties won’t win enough seats to form a coalition and neither will Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents. Mr. Netanyahu’s indictment complicates the situation by removing any hope for a unity government, since the opposition would never agree to serve under an indicted prime minister.

So what is Mr. Netanyahu’s game plan? Chaos, it seems. If he cannot form a coalition, there will be another election. Then another. Then another. Until the public gets tired of voting and lets him win, or until he is defeated in a way that enables his rivals to form a coalition, or until a final judgment that could take years, or until there’s crisis severe enough to make his indictment seem small in comparison.

To prevent grave damage to the legal system and to prevent even more prolonged political disarray, Mr. Netanyahu’s allies in the Knesset must muster the courage to intervene. Either members of his own party or the leaders of other parties of his right-religious bloc ought to tell him: It is time to step down.

They must do it not because they think Mr. Netanyahu is guilty — the cases against him are complicated and I am far from certain that he is guilty. They must to do it not because they have faith in the legal system — some of the questions about the prosecution of Mr. Netanyahu are serious. They must do it not because Mr. Netanyahu is not a good prime minister — in fact, he can take credit for many great achievements. It will not be easy to find another person of his caliber to fill in his shoes.

And yet, they must do it. Because the other option is worse.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Shmuel Rosner is the political editor at The Jewish Journal, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute and a contributing opinion writer. @rosnersdomain

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