The Benjamin Netanyahu era seemed to meet its definitive end last summer.
But Israel’s hawkish ex-prime minister — and longtime thorn in the side of President Biden, Barack Obama and other Democrats who favor diplomacy with Iran’s anti-Israel theocratic regime — has a real chance to return to power after a stunning shakeup in Israeli politics this week that has left the country barreling toward its fifth election in just three years.
The rapid collapse of Israel’s anti-Netanyahu coalition government on Monday didn’t happen by accident, regional analysts say. The 72-year-old Mr. Netanyahu, who led Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to June 2021, worked feverishly behind the scenes to whip up opposition to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and undermine an eight-party governing alliance that was united almost solely by its desire to push Mr.