Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never imagined that he would start 2018 the way he has. His strong, stable coalition had long offered him a sense of quiet security, but now it is falling apart, and he is losing control of its disparate pieces. His political adroitness had previously prevented the kind of crisis that arose Jan. 3 from causing everything to spin out of control. Things went haywire leading up to the vote on the death penalty for terrorists law promoted by the chairman of Yisrael Beitenu, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.
The scent of new elections is in the air, and Liberman can smell it, as can all the other leaders of the coalition parties. Liberman is now in a race against the clock to play to his base by getting as many achievements under his belt as possible. He therefore has two major pieces of legislation in his sights.