To end the war in Gaza and free the remaining Israeli hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have to cut deals that analysts say could end his government — and potentially his career.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is fighting two parallel battles, one in Gaza and another at home — and neither is going according to plan.
In Gaza, Mr. Netanyahu is leading a military campaign to defeat Hamas and free the remaining Israeli hostages captured during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. At home, he is fighting to secure both his short-term political survival and his long-term legacy.
In Gaza, Israeli generals fear that Mr. Netanyahu’s two main objectives are mutually incompatible. Routing Hamas would most likely cost the lives of many hostages being held within Hamas’s underground fortress. Alternatively, a diplomatic deal to free the hostages would most likely leave Hamas in control of at least part of Gaza.
On both fronts, he is struggling.
To burnish his legacy, he is pushing for a landmark peace deal with Saudi Arabia, a long-term strategic goal for Israel. Saudi Arabia, however, will not normalize ties without an Israeli commitment to a two-state solution. And without greater cooperation from Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies, it will become harder for Israel to wind down its war in Gaza and plan for the territory’s future.
“We are reaching the end of the Netanyahu era, but he isn’t done yet,” said Mazal Mualem, a Netanyahu biographer.
“Netanyahu has proven, unrivaled skills in extricating himself from entanglements,” she added, “but this time he is so deep in over his head that he may have trouble climbing out.”
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Netanyahu will not stop until he realizes the ultimate goal of creating a greater Israel from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea, which probably also including a chunk of south Lebanon.
To achieve his ultimate goal, he is using relentless bombardment, starvation and other privations to make Gaza uninhabitable for Palestinians. He appears to hope that any left alive will beg to leave.
US taxpayers help fund all this and the rest of the world seems powerless to intervene. Shame on all of us.
Why does it always seem to be the case that the fate of millions hinge on the selfish ambitions of a single man?
While it might seem like it’s all about Netanyahu, it’s really about the US President and American sentiments towards Israel.
If Americans turn their backs on Israel or if US President dares to challenge the Israeli lobby, then it’s possible to pull American aid for Israel or even threaten to do so and that will be enough to force Israel to fall in line. It has happened before and will again. We have to wait for the presidential election. Biden will have a stronger hand after a win in November.
@Politic4lViperGreen2yrs2Y
With Israel one poor decision follows a bad one, follows an even worse one with regularity. The country has no idea where it is and where it’s headed. The US is mindlessly indulging it to no avail. So far the IDF has rescued one hostage and killed three. It stands no chance of rescuing any more while fighting continues. Israel has no strategic clarity, only a series of botched self-harming tactical initiatives.
@D1plom4tEliana2yrs2Y
This suggests that many Israelis are in fact supportive of genocide or ethnic cleansing, without thinking about the consequences, and that Netanyahu might be willing to authorize crimes against humanity in Gaza because of political needs. This probably also explains not only the annihilation statements by Israeli ministers, but also the limits on humanitarian aid, the timing of the UNRWA disclosures, and the bombing of the MAP and IRC hospital (staffed by Western doctors and in a protected area). But retaliatory genocide or genocide to pacify a hostile population or restore a sense of security are still genocide, and if this the case with Israel and Gaza, then South Africa was right to bring it's case in the ICJ.
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