It was hard to ignore the goodwill gesture made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the right-wing Channel 20, at the opening of the press conference that he convened Aug. 23. Netanyahu had summoned the political correspondents to announce his acceptance of a compromise with the Blue and White party. By accepting to delay the vote on the state budget by 120 days, Netanyahu avoided for the Knesset to be dispersed and for new elections to be called.

After making his announcement, the prime minister was ready to take questions. But with everyone raising their hands, including all the leading channels on prime time live TV, Netanyahu kept looking for the Channel 20 correspondent, to grant him the first question. Still, what looked like paying homage to the style of Netanyahu’s friend — US President Donald Trump — went far beyond that.

Netanyahu knew that he would be asked about the agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the steep price he paid — in the eyes of the right-wing camp — when he waived the annexation of West Bank settlements. Indeed, giving up on annexation had raised the ire of large swaths of the right. Therefore, the prime minister wanted to demonstrate his loyalty to his ideological base, in full view of the cameras.

Netanyahu knew that some of the settler leaders — mainly heads of the Yesha Council, the settlement umbrella organization — were very angry and disappointed with him. But he also knew that others in the settler leadership were more understanding of his varied considerations as a statesman and, thus, will remain faithful to him.