These days the government coalition and political opposition seem to be increasingly split over the official approach and policies of the current government concerning the future of the state of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, of Israeli-Palestinian relations in general, and of Israeli-Gazan relations in particular.
Since all the indications seem to suggest that the official policy of the government is formulated almost exclusively by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with very little (if any) effective input from the rest of the government and strong but ineffective criticism coming from the top echelons of the IDF (including Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir), what Netanyahu really wants needs to be made clear.
In liberal democracies the prime minister, as “first among equals,” has substantial influence over policy, but not absolute control. Many of us fear that one of the indications that Israel is moving away from being a liberal democracy is the fact that Netanyahu is acting as if he has a monopoly over decision-making.
In addition, the fact that he keeps justifying his decisions on the basis of the argument that his government gained a majority in the November 2022 elections is problematic. This is because neither the issue of a legal and judicial reform nor that of a prospective war in the Gaza Strip was raised in those elections.
Furthermore, it is because, irrespective of the current make-up of the Knesset, according to most opinion polls, a majority of the public objects to the current official line over issues such as the conquest of all of Gaza as an immediate priority, surpassing the urgency of negotiations for the release of all the hostages.
No one doubts that Israel is capable of conquering the whole enclave. The question is whether such a move will ensure the release of all the hostages before the 20 (or less) who are alive are murdered, or deliberately starved to death, and whether it will force Israel to establish full military and administrative rule in Gaza, in the absence of any other feasible arrangement acceptable to it.
Both the current leadership of the security establishment and a majority of the Israeli public appear to support placing negotiations for the release of all the hostages first, even if this means ending the war before Hamas, which has already lost most of its administrative and military capabilities, has been completely obliterated.
This is based on true concern for the fate of the hostages, the whereabouts of many of whom are known to Hamas and the Islamic Jihad only. It is also based on the fact that the IDF is currently overstretched in terms of manpower, a problem that is nowhere near being resolved, especially if the issue of the enlistment of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) youths is not settled on the basis of a genuine compromise soon.
The IDF also has an unresolved problem of equipment in urgent need of repair and constantly growing expenses that have already gone completely out of control.
There is also no long-term, legally approved plan concerning the desired future of Gaza from an Israeli perspective – whether as part of the State of Israel (which is unlikely to be accepted internationally), or as part of an overall Israeli-Palestinian arrangement (the current feasibility of which is infinitesimal).
On the other side, the question remains whether Netanyahu really supports the conquest of the whole of the Gaza Strip per se, is being pressured by his extreme right coalition partners (Otzma Yehudit, the Religious Zionist Party, and No’am), or is simply using the threat of conquest as a tool to persuade Hamas to adopt more flexible positions.
Protests over hostages and against Netanyahu turn violent
Another question is that of the hostages. As time progresses, the rift between Netanyahu and most of the families of the hostages appears to be growing while turning increasingly emotional and caustic.
The general feeling is that even though most of those speaking in the name of the government insist that bringing the remaining 48 hostages back as soon as possible is one of the goals of the war in Gaza, there is greater willingness in government circles to risk the lives of the remaining live hostages for the sake of obliterating Hamas.
This means that the supreme value of the redemption of prisoners and hostages as a basic principle in Israel’s code of conduct is eroding.
Again, the extreme right-wing members of the government do not hide the fact that for them the prospects for redeeming additional stretches of land in Eretz Yisrael, are more important than the redemption of prisoners and hostages.
Most of the hostages’ families feel that despite his denial, Netanyahu is not fully committed to bringing the hostages home as a priority. The situation was further aggravated by a statement issued by Netanyahu last Wednesday, following an especially boisterous demonstration outside the prime minister’s residence on Jerusalem’s Aza Street, that was accompanied by the burning of garbage containers nearby that spread to a private car, which was totally consumed.
Netanyahu’s reaction (translated by the Prime Minister’s Office) was: “In a democracy, demonstrations are legitimate. However, what is happening in the financed, organized, and political protests against the government – which have crossed every line – is that they are vandalizing property, blocking roads, making millions of citizens miserable, and chasing after elected officials and their children...
”They are threatening to murder me... and my family on a daily basis; they are also setting fires. They said that they will surround my home... with a ring of fire, just like fascist gangs...”
The setting of garbage containers on fire next to the prime minister’s home was the work of a few individuals. This act is certainly to be criticized and condemned, as are other violent acts and threats initiated by radical individuals.
Yet, to brand the movements demanding the immediate return of the hostages and protesting anti-democratic actions taken by the government as “fascist gangs,” when not a word is said in condemnation of unruly hilltop youth who regularly burn and destroy property in Palestinian villages in Judea and Samaria, occasionally also killing random Palestinians without the military doing anything to stop them, is pure hypocrisy.
Netanyahu has the right to be angry when the demonstrators occasionally diverge from acceptable conduct, but after all this, how can he say that he is doing everything to bring the hostages back?
There are many more issues that illustrate the gravity and lack of clarity surrounding the current clashes and antagonisms, but those brought above explain in a nutshell what we are talking about and why it is vital that a U-turn take place soon, before the clash turns into an explosion.
The writer has written journalistic and academic articles, as well as several books, on international relations, Zionism, Israeli politics, and parliamentarism. In the years 1994-2010 she worked in the Knesset Library and the Knesset Research and Information Center.