From a luxurious office suite that he rents in one of Herzliya Pituach’s most prestigious towers, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is plotting his return to power. Next September, he will celebrate his 72nd birthday, but he is harder at work than ever, with just one goal in mind. He is committed to taking back the office of prime minister, which he believes was stolen from him in a public and political scam.

It hasn’t even been two months since Netanyahu ceded the prime minister’s office to Naftali Bennett, but he can already chalk up several minor victories against his successor and mortal enemy. These may not have practical significance, at least not immediately, but they are still extremely important to his efforts to establish himself as an alternative to the current government.

On July 29, Israel learned that Netanyahu’s campaign against the “failed” government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is beginning to bear fruit. With the fourth wave of the virus spreading at an alarming rate, Bennett announced on primetime TV that evening that Israel would be the first country in the world to enable seniors over the age of 60 to receive a third shot of the vaccine.

As leader of the opposition, Netanyahu would never allow Bennett to be the sole center of attention, so an hour before the prime minister’s big announcement, Netanyahu put together a video clip of his own, reminding the public that he had already called for a third vaccination shot several weeks ago. “The government wasted precious time bringing the third vaccine. For six weeks now, I have been calling on them to bring to Israel the vaccines we have already ordered. For long weeks they did nothing. It’s a failure that resulted in the loss of human life. Now one thing needs to be done — go get vaccinated right away,” he said.