Even some of Israel’s staunchest supporters now hesitate when they say it: “I support Israel—but Bibi?” It’s become the ritual disclaimer—an instinctive posture of distance. The prevailing theory, repeated across think tanks, media panels, and Telegram channels, is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping the Gaza war simmering to delay his corruption trial and cling to power. That his every move, however strategic on the surface, is in fact a calculated bid to stay out of court and keep his coalition from collapsing.

At first, that narrative sounded like yet another layer of Israeli domestic drama—too cynical, too convenient. But then Israel bombed the Qatari capital of Doha, and even hardened observers started to ask: Is he going too far? Is Bibi a warmonger with a stopwatch, buying time at the cost of escalation?

But what if the truth is a little more complex?

What if Israel’s most divisive leader isn’t simply trying to survive—but is actually maneuvering the entire...

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