Is anyone surprised by Netanyahu’s partial deal or no deal?
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rarely gives interviews to domestic media outlets. In the twilight of his political life, he prefers those journalists who pander to him, and let him embark on a free flow of propaganda without any critique. Israel’s Channel 14 television is known for this practice, and could be easily be renamed the Bibi News Channel, as it conveys to the public the messages of the one who increasingly sees himself as the supreme leader, and not an elected prime minister who is accountable to the Israeli public or scrutinized by the Knesset.
Consider Netanyahu’s so-called “interview” on this channel in which he stated, without being challenged, that in the negotiations with Hamas, he would only accept a partial ceasefire deal, but would not end the already nine-month-long war in Gaza. That statement has three major implications. First, it undermines the viability of the US-backed ceasefire proposal. Second, it was as good as saying that he is ready to give up on at least some of the 120 hostages still in captivity. And, finally, since US President Joe Biden presented the three-part plan as an Israeli proposal, it also means that Netanyahu has reneged on what he had agreed with Washington, and by that risks widening the rift with the Biden administration.
It would be disingenuous of anyone to suggest that they were surprised by the Israeli prime minister’s behavior, as we have all been accustomed, although appalled, by the way he conducts public affairs — in this case prioritizing his political survival over the release of the hostages, and prolonging a conflict in which it is obvious, including to his military high command, that destroying Hamas is not an achievable objective. In taking this approach, he is also increasing the likelihood of war with Hezbollah on the country’s northern border, while alienating regional and international allies, and deepening the divisions within Israeli society. Netanyahu is ready to allow this litany of threats to the country’s national interest simply so that he can stay in power and delay indefinitely the conclusion of his corruption trial.
The Biden proposal is not perfect, but it contains the seeds of ending the hostilities, of stopping the loss of life of many more Palestinians and the devastation inflicted on the Strip, allowing for desperately needed humanitarian aid to be delivered on a larger scale, and bringing to an end the suffering inflicted on the hostages and their families who have been living in an awful limbo regarding their loved ones’ fate.
Instead, we are witnessing Prime Minister Netanyahu and Mr. Bibi’s horror show. The former understands that talk about completely eliminating Hamas is unrealistic militarily, politically, and ideologically; the latter is a small-time politician whose unquenched thirst for power and hedonistic lifestyle dictate his behavior.
The three-phase plan as proposed by Israel and introduced by Biden could create the conditions for ending this war, one that has already entered its never-ending stage at the expense of the people of Gaza, the hostages, and in the larger scheme of things, both the Israelis and all Palestinians. When a ceasefire is agreed, then and only then will the door be open for the reconstruction of Gaza, which might also create a political horizon beyond a truce.
The Biden proposal is not perfect, but it contains the seeds for ending the hostilities.
Yossi Mekelberg
Admittedly, Hamas’ leadership in Gaza is playing hardball with the ceasefire negotiations, as its main interest is its own survival and that of the movement. It knows that the end of the war will be a moment of accountability for its triggering of the events that led to the calamity that has befallen Gaza, as will be the case for the Israeli government regarding its colossal failure to foresee the events of Oct. 7. In the meantime, Hamas is holding on to the hostages as its only card that might guarantee an end to the hostilities and by that save its skin. But Netanyahu’s admission that a ceasefire deal will not bring an end to the war is as good as abandoning the hostages, for whom every day that passes is a matter of life and death.
By all accounts the Israeli Defense Forces are winding down the assaults on the Gaza Strip, reducing the number of forces there, and transitioning to a stage that for all intents and purposes will be an occupation, with no “day after” or exit plan. Instead Israel is establishing what seems to be a semi-permanent plan to take a hold on what is known as Route 749, or the Netzarim Corridor, and on the Philadelphi Corridor. The first is a new road that runs across northern Gaza from east to west, dividing the north and south of the enclave, while the second runs along the border with Egypt and also controls the Rafah crossing on the Gaza side. The circle to square for Netanyahu is how to maintain a low-intensity conflict with Hamas that could last for years, while at the same time convincing the Israeli public that the damage inflicted on the militant group is irreversible and, therefore, at least this objective of the war has been accomplished.
As long as the hostages remain in captivity, Israeli soldiers are still being killed in Gaza, the security situation in the West Bank deteriorates, and the situation in the north of the country escalates toward full-scale war with Hezbollah, the Israeli public will not believe Netanyahu’s endless mantra that “we are a step away from victory.” Instead, they see how he is cynically using the war to tell the court, through his lawyers, that he will be unable to give evidence in his corruption trial until March next year, while he continues to cave in to every whim of his far-right and ultra-orthodox coalition partners.
When I was among those who argued that as a defendant in a corruption trial, Netanyahu should have suspended himself from office — as one cannot run a country, especially one as complex as Israel, and at the same time manage one’s legal affairs that might lead to a criminal conviction and a jail sentence — I could not have foreseen in my worst nightmare the scenario that would unfold on and after Oct. 7.
To suspend himself would have been the right thing to do in a more routine state of affairs, let alone in a major conflict situation. Netanyahu was not fit to govern before the war, as he was already attacking his country’s liberal-democratic institutions for the sake of a get-out-of-jail-free card. Now he is cynically toying with the lives and security of the entire nation and well beyond. Playing with the idea of a partial ceasefire is just another ploy to help him cling to power.
- Yossi Mekelberg is a professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the Middle East and North Africa Program at international affairs think tank Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg
