He drew on his favourite policy to win over Palestinians, whether in Israel or the occupied territories: what he terms "economic peace". The transactional idea is that he offers small economic incentives in return for political quiescence from Palestinians.
The Nazareth modelNetanyahu's test bed in Israel for this old-style, patronage politics was Nazareth, where a new mayor, Ali Salam, was elected in 2014 - a break with decades of rule by the socialist Hadash party.
Salam was part of a new wave of populist politicians emerging around the world. Immediately following the US election of 2016, Salam credited himself with being a political mentor to Donald Trump, whom he never met.
Salam sidelined the Palestinian national cause, even rhetorically, and focused on a narrow agenda of cosying up to the Israeli government in the hope of winning favours for his city and prolonging his personal rule.
Netanyahu was keen to win a political ally in Nazareth, the effective capital of the Palestinian minority in Israel, and especially one as divisive as Salam. The two were soon flaunting a relationship of mutual convenience.
This, it seems, did not go unnoticed by Abbas, leader of the outgoing UAL party in the Joint List. After Gantz's rebuff, Abbas began to replicate, on the national stage, the political alliance with Netanyahu fostered locally by Salam in Nazareth.
Odeh, the Joint List's leader, had accepted the need to make an alliance with Gantz in the hope of gaining political influence, but was rejected.
Abbas pursued a similar logic. As Abdelfattah put it: "His view was, why can't I do the same and make a deal with Netanyahu? As prime minister, Netanyahu is better placed to deliver than Gantz and needs support to avoid his corruption trial."
Last October, Abbas revealed how this would work in practice. He used his powers as a deputy Knesset speaker to void a parliamentary vote that had approved a commission of inquiry into Netanyahu over highly damaging allegations in what is known as the "submarine affair".
Netanyahu is suspected of profiting from a deal for German submarines in defiance of advice from the military. The "submarine affair" has been the main spark for more than a year of anti-Netanyahu protests across Israel.
Behind the scenes, it emerged, Abbas had been cultivating ties with Netanyahu and his advisers. He has repeatedly hinted that he may be willing to vote in favour of an immunity law that would scotch Netanyahu's trial.
The key reason cited for the collapse of the Joint List negotiations last week was Abbas' insistence to his coalition partners that they agree to impossible conditions before he would rule out recommending Netanyahu as prime minister.
In return, Netanyahu has built up Abbas as the man he can work with to staunch the crime wave and overcrowding in Palestinian communities.
Additionally, Netanyahu has implied that Abbas is the politician who can cash in on the peace dividend Palestinian citizens will supposedly enjoy as a result of Israel's warming ties with Arab states through the so-called Abraham Accords.
Unreliable partnerAbbas' former allies in the Joint List understand that Netanyahu is an entirely unreliable political partner, as he has demonstrated throughout his career and repeatedly in his dealings with Gantz.
Nonetheless, Abbas appears to believe that, on the back of Netanyahu's implied endorsement, he can build a new conservative, largely Islamic political coalition to rival the Joint List.
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