Netanyahu is perpetrating new acts of brutality in Gaza to maintain his hold on power in Israel.

 

Israeli forces have killed more than 400 people in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, including more than 100 children, Palestinian officials say.

Men, women and children are paying the price for a war that is not being waged to bring back hostages from Gaza, but to save the political life of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel has been carrying out a massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip since Tuesday. The attack comes as nearly two million people in the Gaza Strip are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan in inhumane conditions. They are living in dire straits for food and clean water.

Ordinary Israelis are divided. Some support the attack, blindly believing that it will bring back Israeli hostages. Revenge can be taken on Hamas. On the other hand, some people, especially the families of the hostages, have warned that the indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza will endanger the loved ones of the hostages.

Despite repeated claims by Netanyahu and his government, this war was never about rescuing the hostages.

Israel has not only shown its unwillingness to move to the second phase of the ceasefire, but has also unilaterally violated the ceasefire in Gaza. The ceasefire was supposed to guarantee the release of all remaining hostages. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected Hamas's offer to release them.

If the Netanyahu government had truly prioritized the return of the hostages, an agreement could have been reached long ago. As a result, the war would have stopped. And if the war had stopped, Netanyahu's political coalition would have collapsed. So the war waged under the pretext of security has been turned into a political tool.

Political Crisis

Netanyahu’s renewed bombing of the Gaza Strip is a sign that Netanyahu will go to any lengths to preserve his rule.

It is no coincidence that Netanyahu launched a new round of indiscriminate attacks on Gaza on Tuesday ahead of a crucial vote (in the Israeli parliament). Ultra-hardline lawmakers have threatened to topple Netanyahu’s government if a law is not passed to exclude members of his own community from the Israeli army. Former Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Benghazi has given the government an ultimatum.

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The renewed fighting in Gaza has come ahead of a large and planned demonstration in Jerusalem. This situation indicates the depth of Israel’s political crisis. At the same time, pressure from the general public is growing to establish a state commission of inquiry into the failure to prevent Hamas attacks on the country’s territory on October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu is acting like Procrustes. He wants to burn everything down. He wants to destroy innocent lives, Israeli social cohesion, and Middle Eastern stability—all of these things just to stay in power for a few more days.

Netanyahu has always done this. Instead of finding realistic solutions to problems, he has forced reality to bend to his political demands.

Instead of ending the war through negotiations, Netanyahu has locked Israel and its hostages into an artificial framework of brutality and destruction. Instead of facing his own failures, he wants to fend off any criticism, political, military, or public.

To stay in politics, Netanyahu will authorize everything from bombing civilians in Gaza to destroying refugee camps in the occupied West Bank and displacing thousands of people.

To cling to power, Netanyahu wants to fire the head of the Shin Bet, the government’s investigative agency. He wants to attack the entire judicial system to avoid a criminal trial that could send him to prison.

The cycle of revenge

A large part of Israeli society is no longer asking questions. Some blindly believe the endless lies, that the hostages can be freed by any means, through more bombing and the killing of hundreds of new civilians. This cruel and unsuccessful cycle of revenge is leading Israel towards moral and military collapse.

This reflects not only a lack of concern for the lives of Palestinians, but also a similar lack of concern for the lives of Israeli hostages. Yet the majority of Israelis do not demand an explanation or ask why the government has missed the opportunity to bring the hostages home.

The state media is also involved. Instead of exposing this manipulation, journalists and commentators are helping Netanyahu. As a result, Netanyahu is easily able to shape people’s perceptions of himself.

Netanyahu will go down in history as the greatest failure of the Israeli nation. He is a man who has repeatedly abandoned his own people, destroyed every diplomatic initiative, and perpetuated an occupation that is the root of all evil.

Netanyahu’s role has repeatedly led to war crimes. He continues to do so. Netanyahu wants to destroy the lives of innocent people, the social cohesion of Israelis, the stability of the Middle East—all of these things. And the goal behind this is to stay in power.