How the hostage killings in Gaza have deepened Israel’s political divisions

Analysis How the hostage killings in Gaza have deepened Israel’s political divisions
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Updated 05 September 2024
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How the hostage killings in Gaza have deepened Israel’s political divisions

How the hostage killings in Gaza have deepened Israel’s political divisions
  • As anger over the prime minister’s handling of the Gaza hostage crisis mounts, internal splits in Israel deepen
  • Protests and strike action highlight growing public distrust of Netanyahu, but experts question if it will lead to his ouster

LONDON: The message on the placard held by one of the tens of thousands of Israelis who flooded on to the streets of Tel Aviv on Sunday was as clear as it was damning: “Bibi, their blood is on your hands.”

It is rare for any country at war to experience internal dissent on the scale of the protests that have convulsed Israeli society this week — let alone the state of Israel, whose citizens are famously patriotic.

But the sense of shock and grief that gripped the nation following the discovery on Saturday that six of the Israeli hostages held in Gaza had been shot dead turned quickly to anger — directed not at Hamas, but at “Bibi,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The world has watched extraordinary scenes unfolding on the streets of Israel.




Relatives of Israeli hostage Edan Alexander speak during a demonstration by the families. (AFP/File)

At mass protests in Tel Aviv, speakers calling for a peace deal shared a stage with six coffins draped in the Israeli flag. Outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem a peaceful sit-down demonstration was broken up by police.

On Monday, Israel’s biggest trade union, Histadrut, staged a nationwide general strike that closed schools, businesses, government and municipal offices, and Ben Gurion International Airport.

The strike, backed by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, was called with one aim — to put pressure on Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition government to reach a deal for the return of the remaining hostages.

A US-backed deal with Hamas has been on the table since May, and there is now a growing belief in Israel and around the world that Netanyahu is perpetuating the war with the sole aim of saving his own political skin.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden accused Netanyahu of not doing enough to secure a hostage deal. And, after months of trying to bring Israel and Hamas to an agreement, reports suggest that frustrated US negotiators plan to present Israel with a final “take it or leave it” deal.

In a statement issued before Monday’s general strike, Arnon Bar-David, the chairman of Histadrut, said he had “come to the conclusion that only our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken. A deal is not progressing due to political considerations, and this is unacceptable.”




The world has watched extraordinary scenes unfolding on the streets of Israel. (AFP)

The traumatized relatives of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum accused the government of cynically frustrating peace efforts with “delays, sabotage and excuses,” without which the six hostages found dead in a tunnel in Rafah on Saturday afternoon “would likely still be alive.”

The divisions in Israeli society run deeper than the fault lines that have opened up since Oct. 7, said Ahron Bregman, a senior teaching fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and a veteran of the Israeli military.

“The Gaza war coincides with a significant change in Israeli society that has been in the making for many years, namely the emergence of a new elite,” he told Arab News.

“The old elite, mainly left-wing or centrist Ashkenazi, Kibbutzniks, and so on, are now replaced by right-wing nationalists, with settlers being the most active and dominant among them.”




Dividing Israeli society over the issue of hostages “was certainly one of Hamas’s aims,” Sir John Jenkins told Arab News. (AFP)

These groups, he said, “have been fighting each other for years, but now this fight has reached its climax, and it is out in the open for all to see. Netanyahu, by appointing people from the new elite, settlers like Itamar Ben-Gvir (national security minister) and Bezalel Smotrich (finance minister), to critical positions in his government, gave this change of guard a big push.

“And in the Gaza war, and particularly over the issue of the hostages, many of whom belong to the old elite, the new elite practically dictates Israel’s policies.”

To survive, Bregman said, “Netanyahu needs the war to continue, otherwise, his coalition partners, who want the war to continue, might abandon him. Therefore, whenever there’s progress in talks to have a ceasefire, which will include the release of Israeli hostages, Netanyahu puts new obstacles in the way.”

His “latest toy,” Bregman added, was the Philadelphi corridor, on the western edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, which Netanyahu insists must continue to be occupied by Israeli troops.

“This, of course, is nonsense and only an obvious attempt to kill a deal with Hamas. We now know that all the tunnels under Philadelphi have been blocked on the Egyptian side for years, and nothing came through.

“Whatever was smuggled into Gaza came through the Rafah crossing. And anyway, 80 percent of the weapons used by Hamas are produced inside the Strip.”

Iranian-Israeli author and commentator Meir Javedanfar, a lecturer at Israel’s Reichman University, agrees that “the government’s handling of the hostages and the war in general, has created incredible division within the State of Israel.”




Israel says it is conducting a military campaign in Gaza to eliminate Hamas and rescue hostages. (AFP)

One of the main causes is that “Netanyahu does not have much credibility with many Israelis,” Javedanfar told Arab News.

“He had already lost credibility prior to Oct. 7 because of the judicial reform crisis,” during which months of large-scale protests erupted last year after Netanyahu’s cabinet moved to weaken the ability of the Supreme Court to block “unreasonable” government decisions.

“Now people are concerned that, just as with the judicial reform, Netanyahu is acting to serve his personal political interest, which is mainly to stay in power as long as possible.”




Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. (AFP)

But “while the demonstrations are putting pressure on him, I’m not optimistic that it’s going to make him reach a deal. Right now, the Israeli parliament is not in session, so he doesn’t have to worry about his government being toppled. But as we get closer to the next session, I think he will have to show more leniency, at least.”

The Knesset returns from a three-month recess on Oct. 27.

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, says it is important to remember that in Israel “there is a consensus and support for Israeli attacks on Hamas and that the government does have a mandate to go after them.”

Doyle told Arab News: “The opposition to Netanyahu is far more about the man than the policy against Hamas. Where a lot of these protesters differ with Netanyahu and his coalition is that they would have put the survival and the return of the hostages above politics, which is actually a strong tradition within Israel’s history.

“But if you look at the polling, there isn’t actually a lot of antipathy and opposition toward the actual conduct of the war amongst Israeli Jews. So the difference is, who’s prepared to pay a price in negotiations to get the hostages back, and who’s not?”




Displaced Palestinians returning to Bani Suhayla and neighbouring towns east of Khan Yunis in July, 2024. (AFP)

On Wednesday CAABU was one of 18 UK charities and NGOs that signed a joint statement welcoming the British government’s decision to suspend some arms licenses to Israel, but called for it to go further and “immediately end ALL arms transfers to Israel to prevent their use in violations of international law.”

“Yes, the demonstrations are large, but they are in the more liberal Israeli Jewish cities, such as Tel Aviv, and not in the more conservative right-wing ones,” Doyle said.

“Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. I disagree with him politically and morally, but in terms of Israeli politics he is a superb political operator.

“I thought that in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7 he would have to go, because of the colossal failure on his watch. But one underestimates him at one’s peril. He is a survivor, he’s very obstinate and not somebody who is going to give up. He would have to be forced out.

“He knows that these protesters aren’t the people who support him, or are ever likely to. So what would finish Netanyahu is not protests, but more likely any rifts within his coalition.”

A poll published by Israel’s Channel 12 news on Saturday, carried out before the discovery of the six murdered hostages, illustrated this dynamic.

Although a large majority of Israelis — 69 percent ­— said they believed this should be Netanyahu’s last term in office, opinion was more finely balanced among supporters of his coalition parties, with an almost 50-50 split between those who believed he should go and those who wanted him to run again.

The same poll also revealed a telling split between the 18 percent of respondents who supported the state ceremony being planned to commemorate the events of Oct. 7 and the 60 percent who favored the alternative ceremony being organized by the families of the dead and hostages. Only a quarter of Israelis plan to watch the government event on TV.




The traumatized relatives of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum accused the government of cynically frustrating peace efforts. (AFP)

Bregman, who served six years in the Israeli army, believes that “only civil resistance in Israel could force Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas” ­— and that such an event is now more a possibility than ever before in a fundamentally divided Israel.

“A violent, bloody civil war in Israel is a real possibility, as the Israeli tribes disagree on so many things and, in many cases, literally hate each other,” he said.

“And now, ‘thanks’ to the initiative of Ben-Gvir, Israeli society is armed to the teeth, as he has distributed weapons left and right.”

Since Oct. 7, Ben-Gvir’s ministry has issued hundreds of thousands of gun permits to private Israeli citizens and distributed thousands of assault rifles to “civilian security teams,” including those operated by right-wing settler groups in the West Bank.

“In the past, external threats, such as wars, used to unite the Israelis, bringing them together,” said Bregman.

“But now, the Gaza war seems to have worked in the opposite direction, leading to ever-growing divisions among Israelis over a possible ceasefire and the release of Israelis from Hamas captivity.”

Sir John Jenkins, former British ambassador to Iraq and Saudi Arabia and UK consul-general in Jerusalem, cautions that one should not forget that Hamas also has a big say in how events might unfold in the weeks and months ahead.

Dividing Israeli society over the issue of hostages “was certainly one of Hamas’s aims,” he told Arab News.

“They know from long experience the importance Israel attaches to freeing hostages and captives. The hostages are a powerful card they think they can play into the game when it best suits them.

“Even shooting hostages gives Hamas the chance to exert moral pressure on Israel, as we’ve just seen.”




“Only civil resistance in Israel could force Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas,” said Ahron Bregman. (AFP)

But “Hamas needs to end the fighting and the hostages are a wasting asset. The tactic hasn’t worked so far, and Netanyahu shows no sign of relenting, and that means continued fighting is almost certain — and continued suffering for the people of Gaza.

“Hamas could end this immediately by releasing all the hostages, of course. But I guess they think that if they wait then something else will turn up — a war in Lebanon, an Iranian attack on Israel, a new US president or whatever — that will benefit them.”

 


UN experts slam Israel’s blatant assault on health rights in Gaza

UN experts slam Israel’s blatant assault on health rights in Gaza
Updated 04 January 2025
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UN experts slam Israel’s blatant assault on health rights in Gaza

UN experts slam Israel’s blatant assault on health rights in Gaza
  • Reiterating charges that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, two independent UN rights experts said they were “horrified” by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza’s last functioning major hospital
  • UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body

GENEVA: UN experts have denounced Israel’s raid on an embattled hospital in northern Gaza, demanding an end to the “blatant assault” on health rights in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Reiterating charges that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, two independent UN rights experts said they were “horrified” by the raid last Friday on Kamal Adwan, northern Gaza’s last functioning major hospital.
“For well over a year into the genocide, Israel’s blatant assault on the right to health in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory is plumbing new depths of impunity,” the experts said.
The joint statement was from Francesca Albanese, the independent UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, and Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on the right to health.

FASTFACT

The joint statement was from Francesca Albanese, the independent UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories, and Tlaleng Mofokeng, the special rapporteur on the right to health.

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva dismissed the statement as “far removed from the truth,” saying it “completely ignores critical facts and the broader context of Hamas’s exploitation of civilian infrastructure for military purposes.”
The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as command centers, something Hamas denies.
The military “undertook every effort to protect civilians,” the Israeli mission said, insisting its “actions highlight Israel’s commitment to international law and the protection of civilian infrastructure, even under the most challenging circumstances.”
Israel’s military said it had killed more than 20 suspected militants and detained more than 240, including the hospital’s director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, describing him as a suspected Hamas militant.
In their statement, Albanese and Mofokeng said they were “gravely concerned” at Safiyeh’s detention and demanded his “immediate release.”
“Yet another doctor to be harassed, kidnapped, and arbitrarily detained by the occupation forces,” they said.
“This is part of a pattern by Israel to continuously bombard, destroy, and fully annihilate the realization of the right to health in Gaza.”
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the world body.
The experts also highlighted “disturbing reports” that Israeli forces had allegedly carried out extrajudicial executions of some people near the hospitals, including a Palestinian man reportedly holding a white flag.
They pointed to figures provided by the Health Ministry in Gaza indicating that at least 1,057 Palestinian health and medical professionals have been killed since the war erupted following the Palestinian group’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack inside Israel.
The World Health Organization has repeatedly denounced the high number of attacks on health care staff and facilities in the war: 1,273 attacks on health care in Gaza and the West Bank have been recorded since the start of the war.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on X that the pace of desperately needed medical evacuations out of Gaza was “excruciatingly slow.”
“Only 5,383 patients have been evacuated with support from WHO since October 2023, of which only 436 since the Rafah crossing was closed” last May, he said.
He said more than 12,000 people were awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza.
“At this rate, it would take 5-10 years to evacuate all these critically ill patients, including thousands of children,” he added.
“In the meantime, their conditions get worse and some die.”

 


Lebanon’s PM discusses with Syria’s de facto ruler relations between two countries

Lebanon’s PM discusses with Syria’s de facto ruler relations between two countries
Updated 04 January 2025
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Lebanon’s PM discusses with Syria’s de facto ruler relations between two countries

Lebanon’s PM discusses with Syria’s de facto ruler relations between two countries

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, in a phone call on Friday with Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed Al-Sharaa, discussed relations between the two countries, according to a statement from Mikati’s office posted on X, and said that he received an invitation from Sharaa to visit Syria to discuss common files.
Sharaa also affirmed that Syrian authorities took the necessary measures to restore calm on the border between the two countries, the post on X said.


Syrian foreign minister to visit Qatar, UAE and Jordan

Syrian foreign minister to visit Qatar, UAE and Jordan
Updated 04 January 2025
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Syrian foreign minister to visit Qatar, UAE and Jordan

Syrian foreign minister to visit Qatar, UAE and Jordan

DAMASCUS: The top diplomat in Syria’s new leadership said Friday he will make official visits to Qatar, the UAE and Jordan this week, having just been in Saudi Arabia on his first trip in office.
The new government is eager for foreign investment to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure and boost the economy, shattered by more than a decade of war.
“This week, I will represent my country, Syria, on an official visit to our brothers in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” its foreign minister Asaad Al-Shibani said in a statement on X.
“We look forward to these visits contributing to support stability, security, economic recovery, and building distinguished partnerships,” he added.
Earlier this week, Shaibani headed a high-ranking delegation to Riyadh that included the new government’s defense minister and intelligence chief.
It was the first foreign visit by Syria’s new rulers since they ousted president Bashar Assad last month.


Lebanese army unit clashes with Syrian gunmen at illegal border crossing

Lebanese army unit clashes with Syrian gunmen at illegal border crossing
Updated 03 January 2025
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Lebanese army unit clashes with Syrian gunmen at illegal border crossing

Lebanese army unit clashes with Syrian gunmen at illegal border crossing
  • Interior minister defends additional security measures at airport and land crossing points

BEIRUT: A Lebanese army unit clashed with a group of armed Syrian nationals at the border on Friday as the soldiers attempted to “close an illegal crossing” in the Maarboun-Baalbek area of eastern Lebanon.

The Syrians were trying to forcibly reopen the crossing with a bulldozer, the army said. Soldiers fired warning shots into the air and Syrians responded by returning fire.

The “armed Syrians fired at the Lebanese soldiers, injuring one and sparking a clash between both sides,” the army command added. “Artillery shells were used” and other Lebanese army units in the area also responded with strict military measures, it added.

Subsequently, “reinforcements from the army’s mobile regiment arrived in the area, following the retreat of the armed Syrians, some of whom sustained injuries,” and the illegal crossing remained closed.

Maarboun is a town in Baalbek-Hermel governorate, and a natural crossing point between the two countries. However it is an illegal crossing mainly used by smugglers and human traffickers. The surrounding area is known to be pro-Hezbollah.

The incident at the illegal crossing coincided with the actions of Syrian authorities on Friday morning that prevented hundreds of Lebanese from crossing the border between Masnaa in Lebanon and Jdeidet Yabous in Syria.

The Syrians suddenly imposed new conditions on Lebanese visitors, including requirements that they have a hotel reservation and at least $2,000 in cash. People visiting Syria for surgery or other medical care must now have proof of an appointment and a Syrian sponsor who can confirm their identity. A valid residence permit for the stay in Syria is also required. Lebanese authorities imposed similar rules on Syrians entering Lebanon after the civil war in Syria began more than a decade ago.

Buses carrying Lebanese passengers who intended to visit Syria were forced turn back at the border as a result of the new Syrian rules.

Lebanon’s General Security Directorate decided to “prohibit any Lebanese from entering Syria through illegal crossings between both countries in Bekaa and the north, pending clarity during this stage,” a source from the agency said.

After the fall of President Bashar Assad and his regime in Syria in early December, the directorate held two meetings with officials from the new Syrian administration to discuss the regulation of movement between the two countries.

Though media delegations, politicians and civilians have crossed into Syria in recent days, Lebanese authorities have tightened security at land crossings, following similar actions at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut.

Normal operations at the airport resumed on Friday after an incident on Thursday night involving an aircraft belonging to Iranian airline Mahan Air. Airport security decided to conduct a thorough inspection of all passengers when the plane landed, including luggage belonging to diplomats on board. The diplomats protested and chose instead to leave their luggage at the airport. It was taken to a storage facility for inspection the following day using scanners.

Footage circulated on social media apparently showing young men on motorcycles heading to the airport to protest against the measures. It was believed the heightened security was motivated by concerns that passengers might be carrying money for delivery to Hezbollah. A second Iranian plane that landed on Friday faced similar security measures.

Lebanon’s interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, described the move as a routine procedure and added: “What the airport security is doing aims to protect Lebanon and the Lebanese people. We are enforcing the law, protecting the airport and safeguarding all of Lebanon because it cannot withstand any new aggression.”

The decision covered the inspection of all luggage, he said, including that carried by diplomats.

The heightened measures drew criticism from the vice president of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib. During his Friday sermon, he called on the interior minister “to demonstrate his heroism against the enemy, not against those who made sacrifices to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

Also on Friday, US Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, head of the international committee monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, toured Khiam, where the Lebanese army was deployed after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. He was accompanied by Brig. Gen. Tony Faris, commander of the Lebanese army’s 7th Brigade.

Their visit came as Israel continued to face criticism for violating Lebanese sovereignty, including reconnaissance flights over southern Lebanon, extending as far as the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israeli forces were also accused of demolishing houses and roads in Dhayra and Jebbayn, and there were renewed warnings to residents of southern Lebanon not to return to homes in border areas until further notice.

There was a heavy presence of UN Interim Force in Lebanon forces along the Bayada-Naqoura road. The Lebanese army has placed concrete barriers on the road to Naqoura, preventing people other than UNIFIL personnel from entering. The UN force’s headquarters is located there.

The Lebanese army said it was surveying military remnants in Naqoura following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the town on Thursday. When this task is complete, Lebanese forces will be redeployed to the area, it added.


Hamas wants Gaza ceasefire deal as soon as possible, senior official says

Hamas wants Gaza ceasefire deal as soon as possible, senior official says
Updated 03 January 2025
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Hamas wants Gaza ceasefire deal as soon as possible, senior official says

Hamas wants Gaza ceasefire deal as soon as possible, senior official says
  • Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of back-and-forth talks between Israel and Hamas

CAIRO: Hamas said a new round of indirect talks on a Gaza ceasefire resumed in Qatar’s Doha on Friday, stressing the group’s seriousness in seeking to reach a deal as soon as possible, senior Hamas official Basem Naim said.

The new talks will focus on agreeing on a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, he added. 

Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US have been engaged in months of back-and-forth talks between Israel and Hamas that have failed to end more than a year of devastating conflict in Gaza.

A key obstacle to a deal has been Israel’s reluctance to agree to a lasting ceasefire.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had authorized Israeli negotiators to continue talks in Doha.

In December, Qatar expressed optimism that “momentum” was returning to the talks following Donald Trump’s election victory in the United States.

But a war of words then broke out with Hamas accusing Israel of setting “new conditions” while Israel accused Hamas of creating “new obstacles” to a deal.

In its Friday statement, Hamas said it reaffirmed its “seriousness, positivity and commitment to reaching an agreement as soon as possible that meets the aspirations and goals of our steadfast and resilient people.