Israelis wrestle with whether to punish or rally behind Netanyahu government

TEL AVIV — Bracing for a major war, Israelis furious over their government’s failure to prevent the bloodshed are grappling with a provocative question: Can accountability wait until after the war?  

Long before Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel on Saturday in an unprecedented breach, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s grip on power was in peril. Netanyahu, on trial for corruption, and his far-right coalition had faced eight months of widespread protests over a judicial overhaul that critics said was pushing Israel toward autocracy.