by Amos Harel at Haaretz
The prime minister announced an expansion of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, despite opposition from the IDF General Staff, growing fatigue among soldiers, and a lack of public legitimacy. Those close to him have adopted an increasingly wild tone and are now even goading the IDF chief
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doubling his bet on the Gaza Strip. Despite opposition from IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, exhaustion among the combat units and growing reservations among the Israeli public, Netanyahu announced on Sunday an expansion of the war against Hamas.
Then, in a video released on Monday, he announced he is determined to continue the war, to eliminate Hamas in Gaza and “to free our hostage sons.”
And on Monday evening, another message of radicalization arrived. Netanyahu, through a senior official on his staff, announced he had decided that Israel would conquer all of Gaza. “If it doesn’t suit IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, let him resign,” he added, in what seems to be a deliberate provocation.
Yet, the prime minister, as usual, doesn’t tell the people how he intends to win. Why should military pressure, which hasn’t delivered results for months, now bring the hostages’ release? How will they be retrieved from the tunnels in one piece? What makes him sure that tasking the ground forces’ worn-out, exhausted units with this mission will succeed this time? Who will replace Zamir, if he is indeed replaced – Gen. David Zini or Gen. Roman Gofman? These ideas don’t really inspire public confidence…
Continue Reading