Current sectionIsrael NewsHaaretz TodayHaaretz Today With less than three months until Israelis head to the polls, Netanyahu is using the same political trick that put him in the Prime Minister's Office in the first place: Keeping the general public in a constant state of fear and anxietyShare to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribeVera Weidenbach08:19 PM • August 02 2026 IDTEarly in his political career, Benjamin Netanyahu learned that terror can win him elections. In 1996, Shimon Peres was originally leading in the polls. The Labor politician had taken over the implementation of the Oslo Accords after Yitzhak Rabin's assassination by a far-right fanatic. Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Haaretz Today NewsletterCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Live UpdatesNetanyahuU.S.-IranGaza DealLebanon Michigan PrimaryElection PollsHaQuizHaaretz PodcastLikud Circulates Alleged Netanyahu Quotes Distancing Himself From Haredi AlliesNew Dinosaur in Zimbabwe: Mini-sauropod That May Have Walked on Two LegsWhy American Jews Will Once Again Favor Democrats This FallThe Art of the Deal – or of Bullshit? Trump's Wariness of Another Iran WarA Palestinian Doctor Held in an Israeli Prison Describes Neglect and HumiliationRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMINetanyahu Says Israel Has 'Special Forces' Ready if He's Arrested on NY VisitThis Israeli ultra-Orthodox Feminist Activist Has a Warning for U.S. JewsTwo Female Israeli Soldiers Die by Suicide as IDF Mental Health Crisis DeepensDozens of IDF Soldiers Desert Sde Teiman Base in Protest of CommanderTrump's Irritation, Netanyahu's Desperation: Oval Office Smiles Mask Rifts'I Tried, I Got Crushed by AIPAC': Andy Levin Is All-in for El-Sayed