After Israel launched its war on Iran, Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to be everywhere. The veteran premier held near-daily press conferences, toured the sites of Iranian missile strikes and even visited a falafel restaurant surrounded by chanting supporters.
“I thank you for everything,” said one woman in the city of Rishon LeZion as she embraced the 75-year-old prime minister near her destroyed family home, a scene filmed and later released by Netanyahu’s office.
Netanyahu has spent much of his four decades in public life — nearly half of that as premier — warning of the grave risk posed by the Islamic republic. Proclaiming that Israel has decimated Iran’s nuclear programme, the prime minister is now trying to make the most of the moment.
Opinion polls show that the war — which started with a surprise Israeli attack on June 13 and culminated with a US bombing raid on Iranian nuclear facilities — had over 80 per cent support from Jewish Israelis, an overwhelming majority of whom believe Israel won decisively.
Netanyahu has also received fulsome praise from his ally US President Donald Trump, who this week called the prime minister a “hero” and a “warrior” and demanded his long-running corruption trial be cancelled.
For observers in Israel and abroad, the question now is what Netanyahu will do next. He has already touted the prospect of using the momentum following the conflict to try and revive long-stalled plans to strike new peace accords with Arab states, something that is expected to require agreeing to end the domestically divisive war in Gaza.
The publicity blitz has sparked speculation among pollsters and analysts that he may even seek to capitalise on the moment and call early elections.
“I’m here on a calling,” he said at one of his recent press conferences, when asked if he would run again. “I still have many missions, and so long as I think I can complete them, I will complete them. But it depends on one factor in our political system: the people.”
People with knowledge of Netanyahu’s thinking have played down the prospect of a snap election, saying it remains an outside option.
But the prime minister’s recent behaviour contrasts sharply with his reticence in the 20 months since Hamas’s October 7 2023 attack, which according to official figures killed 1,200 people in the worst loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. For long stretches of the conflict, Netanyahu largely eschewed press conferences and avoided nearly all unscripted public appearances.
His recent buoyancy, however, masks the deep disillusionment with his premiership. Though he and his Likud party have gained support in recent polls, his governing coalition — which contains far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties — still badly trails the opposition.
Top of the list of challenges he faces is finding a solution to Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, which was launched following Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Under pressure from his far-right allies, Netanyahu has vowed not to stop the campaign — which has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities — until the militant group is destroyed.
Yet polls show the majority of Israelis support a deal to secure the freedom of the 50 remaining hostages still held in the strip — 20 of whom are believed to be alive — even if it means ending the war.
In a stark reminder to the Israeli public of the toll at home, seven Israeli soldiers were killed in the enclave only hours after the ceasefire with Iran was reached this week.
Elections are only set to be held in the autumn of 2026, although most analysts expect them to be moved up to the spring regardless because of a looming budget deadline and other factors.
Dahlia Scheindlin, a political analyst and pollster, said that despite support for his Iran campaign, Netanyahu will struggle to shake off “the pre-existing image” many Israelis have of him after such a controversial premiership.
“What are people going to take to the ballot box: Iran and all the regional and diplomatic successes of the past year, or Gaza and the failures of October 7, [Netanyahu’s] failure to take responsibility [for the attack], and his failure to get the hostages back?”
But several people close to Netanyahu argue that following the Iran campaign he now has more political space, and confidence, to soften his terms for a new ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas that could end the Gaza war.
This, in turn, could revive the possibility of a US-led “grand bargain” that would include a normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia and potentially other Arab and Muslim states, a long-held goal for Netanyahu and most Israelis.
The Israeli leader this week issued a statement saying the war in Iran opened up a “window of opportunity” for a “dramatic expansion of the peace agreements” with Arab states. “Not even a single day can be wasted,” Netanyahu added.
“He knows Gaza needs to end first [as a precondition for expanding the peace deals] . . . at this point he may just want to fulfil his vision of changing the Middle East,” said one of the people with knowledge of Netanyahu’s thinking.
But analysts say that making such concessions will probably cost Netanyahu the support of his far-right allies, like finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and force his hand on heading to elections.
Netanyahu himself has almost certainly not yet decided which path he will take, said Nadav Shtrauchler, a political strategist who has worked with the Israeli leader in the past, arguing that as always the politician is likely to wait until the last minute before making any decision.
The simplest option for the prime minister may be keeping his current governing coalition intact and waiting until after parliament’s summer recess, which stretches from the end of July to October, before making any dramatic move.
Netanyahu also faces the lingering issue of his corruption trial, which began over five years ago on charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, all of which the prime minister denies. Analysts do not expect the proceedings, in which Netanyahu could face jail time if convicted, to end anytime soon.
Back-channel negotiations over a possible plea deal in the case have been renewed, according to Israeli media, although the sticking point reportedly remains Netanyahu’s unwillingness to leave public life as part a deal.
Yet members of Israel’s political class have begun to openly discuss such an option in earnest, one that had only been whispered about previously despite the premier’s ongoing legal troubles and advancing age: retirement.
“He’s almost 76 years old and he just fulfilled his personal dream and life’s mission,” said Shtrauchler. “Until now I wouldn’t have even said it aloud, but it’s at least in his lexicon.”
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