by Amir Tibon at Haaretz
Benjamin Netanyahu and the coalition he prioritizes over the lives of the Israeli hostages have turned the Gaza war into something that even Israel’s strongest allies find indefensible. European governments have started to wield their force, but it won’t be enough to change Israel’s course
In the first months of the Gaza war, immediately after Hamas’ surprise attack against Israel on October 7, the Jewish state and its supporters abroad had a go-to answer whenever Israel’s conduct of the war was facing international criticism. The answer was that Hamas, which started the war by attacking Israel, could also end it – by releasing the hostages taken by the Palestinian terror organization.
It was an answer that Israel’s critics, for a long time, found difficult to argue with. What would any other country in the world choose to do if terrorists kidnapped babies, toddlers and Holocaust survivors from their homes, and then held them at gunpoint in tunnels underground? This was Israel’s strongest case for sending troops into Gaza and exerting pressure on Hamas.
But nearly 20 months into the war – and amidst a new wave of international criticism over the Netanyahu government’s plan to completely destroy Gaza, deprive its population of food and push Gazans out of the coastal enclave into other countries – this argument no longer stands.
The families of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas,…
Continue Reading