Netanyahu, Gantz made peace but are still at war - analysis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kept it a secret for two weeks, but purposely revealed his secret weapon hours ahead of Monday night's deadline to pass the bill required to avoid an election. Netanyahu has hired successful strategist Moshe Klughaft as his new strategic adviser. Klughaft has helped candidates win recent elections in Romania and Georgia and helped build Naftali Bennett's political career. Now Klughaft will help Netanyahu prepare for the next election, whenever it will be. “He is the ultimate fighter,” a strategist who knows Klughaft well said. “You don't bring in the ultimate fighter and pay him a huge amount of the Likud's money if elections aren't coming up soon.” Klughaft helped Netanyahu devise the strategy for maximizing what he could get out of Blue and White over the last few days. He orchestrated his non-campaign that made it look like an election was around the corner. He even sent Netanyahu to Jerusalem's Mahaneh Yehuda market, a campaign stop that has become cliché, where the prime minister is especially popular. Netanyahu sent Klughaft to the 6 p.m. news to interview on his behalf for the first time in a message of deterrence to Gantz. The mere appearance of Klughaft on Netanyahu's side screamed out “Don't mess with me.” Gantz responded by purposely being seen at the Knesset with his own negative strategist, Ronen Tzur. In the three election campaigns, the most negative speeches delivered by Gantz were written by Tzur, whose impact on Monday's fiery address by the angry alternate prime minister was evident. The speech was a warning to Netanyahu that he is giving him one more chance to cooperate or his former IDF chief of staff would fight him with all his ammunition. Upgrading your ammunition is not how you make peace. But it can help make a temporary ceasefire – what in the Middle East is known by the Arabic term “hudna.” The new deadline to pass the budget is December 23. Between now and then, the hudna will be tested: If Netanyahu and Gantz go from recriminations to reconciliation, the government may be able to last longer than people think. In the more likely scenario that they keep fighting and an election is initiated on the night of December 23, it will be held on March 23, just ahead of the Passover holiday. If there will be an election, Netanyahu will be able to utilize his new weapon, Klughaft, against his former employer, Bennett. With all due respect to Gantz, who barely bothers Netanyahu, Bennett has been vexing him for years and in recent weeks has taken away several seats from Netanyahu's Likud, polls show. Hiring Klughaft is intended to target not Netanyahu's current Defense Minister Gantz but his former defense minister, Bennett, whom Klughaft knows very well. It will be interesting to see what weapons Klughaft gives Netanyahu in that battle that lies ahead.

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