Sderot, close to Gaza and targeted by rockets, erupted into angry protests. Placards bearing the slogan "Bibi Go Home" -- using Netanyahu's nickname -- were evident for the first time in his party's heartland.
With this kind of goading, an election in the offing, and corruption indictments hanging over his head, Netanyahu may find it difficult to resist raising the temperature in Gaza once again.
But he also has strong incentives to calm things down and shore up Hamas's rule.
The suggestion by some commentators that Netanyahu has turned a new leaf as a "man of peace" could not be more misguided. What distinguishes Netanyahu from his cabinet is not his moderation, but that he has a cooler head than his far-right rivals.
He believes there are better ways than lashing out to achieve his core political aim: the undermining of the Palestinian national project. This was what he meant on Wednesday when he attacked critics for missing "the overall picture of Israel's security".
On a practical level, Netanyahu has listened to his generals, who warn that, if Israel provokes war with Hamas, it may find itself ill-equipped to cope with the fallout on two other fronts, in Lebanon and Syria.
But Netanyahu has still deeper concerns. As veteran Israeli military analyst Ben Caspit observed: "The only thing more dangerous to Netanyahu than getting tangled up in war is getting tangled up in peace."
The Israeli army has responded to months of largely non-violent mass protests at Gaza's perimeter fence by killing more than 170 Palestinian demonstrators and maiming thousands more.
The protests could turn into an uprising. Palestinians storming the fence that imprisons them is an eventuality the Israeli army is entirely unprepared for. Its only response would be to slaughter Palestinians en masse, or reoccupy Gaza directly.
Netanyahu would rather bolster Hamas, so it can keep a lid on the protests than face an international backlash and demands that he negotiate with the Palestinians.
Further, a ceasefire that keeps Hamas in power in Gaza also ensures that Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, can be kept out.
That was in part why Netanyahu, against his normal instincts, allowed the transfer of the Qatari money, which had been opposed by the Palestinian Authority. It is not just a fillip for Hamas, it is a slap in the face to Abbas.
A disunited Palestine, divided territorially and ideologically, is in no position to exert pressure on Netanyahu -- either through Europe or the United Nations -- to begin peace talks or concede Palestinian statehood.
That is all the more pressing, given that the White House insists that President Trump's long-delayed peace plan will be unveiled within the next two months.
Leaks suggest that the US may propose a separate "entity" in Gaza under Egyptian supervision and financed by Qatar. The ceasefire should be seen as a first step towards creating a pseudo-Palestinian state in Gaza along these lines.
Palestinians there are now caught between a rock and a hard place. Between vengeful hotheads such as Lieberman, who want more carnage in Gaza, and Netanyahu, who prefers to keep the Palestinians quiet and largely forgotten in their tiny prison.
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