Naftali Bennett was physically in Bahrain this week, but his mind was back in Sheikh Jarrah, making sure that MK Itamar Ben-Gvir's antics don't ignite a war with Hamas
East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood preoccupied Naftali Bennett before he flew to Bahrain, while he was there and after he returned. That is the fate of all Israeli prime ministers: Even when their heads are in the clouds of global statesmanship, their feet are covered in the local gunpowder.
Between his meetings with Bahrain’s king and other leaders and his meeting with the commander of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, he was briefed (through his military secretary) by the public security minister and Jerusalem’s police chief.
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On the eve of his flight, the situation seemed to be on the brink of igniting. MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Religious Zionism) and his disciples did their best to set off a barrel of explosives. Hamas threatened to replicate the events of May 2021, which sparked a round of Hamas-Israel fighting.
But Bennett never considered canceling. His situation assessment was that the Gaza Strip would remain quiet, just as it has been throughout the eight months since Operation Guardian of the Walls. Gaza has a lot to lose from a conflict, including the tens of thousands of workers who are bringing home paychecks from Israel and an expanded fishing zone.
The Sheikh Jarrah headache didn’t start during Bennett’s premiership, but now it’s on his watch. He has a duty to the welfare of the few Jews living in the heart of the Arab neighborhood, and also to prevent the unrest from spreading to the rest of Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Moreover, the international community refuses to get off his back. Foreign embassies here call him frequently “to voice concern.”
Already at the start of the events Bennett decided – and instructed his people accordingly – not to have any contact with the provocateur, and also not with any MKs from the Joint List alliance of predominantly Arab parties. In May, on the eve of the fighting with Hamas, then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office begged and pleaded with Ben-Gvir to leave Sheikh Jarrah in exchange for “increased security” for its Jewish residents. Ben-Gvir reaped political capital from this. Bennett didn’t want to play into his hands.
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His people were in constant contact with Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. On Sunday, at the height of the mess, police officers on the ground told them Ben-Gvir was showing signs of fatigue. He was cold. He would soon find an excuse to leave, they predicted. Shortly thereafter, it was reported that he had “fainted” and was taken to a hospital by ambulance.
Bennett promised that the lawbreakers who set the Yoshvayev family’s home on fire last weekend will be dealt with. In the same breath, he termed the politicians pouring oil on the fire “the axis of chaos.” It runs from Netanyahu (Likud) and Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) to the Joint List’s Ahmad Tibi and Ofer Cassif.
The extremists on both sides always serve the other’s goals. MKs, whether Jewish or Arab, right-wing or left-wing, have no reason to be in a place burning with hatred and primitive urges, other than for a moment of dubious TV news fame.
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