Even by the standards of Middle Eastern politics, it has been a tumultuous week. Former Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai has been engaged in a ferocious war of words after being sacked by his boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On the other side of the River Jordan, King Hussein announced that he was replacing his brother, Prince Hassan, as heir to the throne of the Hashemite Kingdom and appointing his son Prince Abdullah to the post. Both moves have long-term consequences for the Middle East and the viability of the peace process.
No doubt Israelis expected a bitter campaign, but few anticipated that it would reach this white-hot intensity so quickly. With voting scheduled for May, there was time for rivalries to simmer before they boiled over. Instead, the chief protagonists wasted no time in going on the offensive.
Last weekend, Mr. Netanyahu fired Mr. Mordechai for "organizing a conspiracy to topple the government in which he was serving." Technically the charges were correct, if not overdramatized: The defense minister was meeting with the prime minister's rivals in a bid to get the best possible deal for jumping ship. Mr. Mordechai responded by calling his former boss a liar, an enemy of peace and a man held captive by extremists. He then announced that he was joining a new centrist party and pledged to provide the country with new leadership. Mr. Netanyahu branded the new group "a bunch of losers." Hopefully, the debate will pick up from here.