Netanyahu and his extremist team failed to address a key question: if Israel—backed by the global superpower, the US, and several major Western allies—was unable to break Hamas and shatter the resistance after 471 days of war and battles, what new outcome could it possibly achieve with this renewed offensive?!
The immense humanitarian catastrophe caused by the brutal war and horrific massacres—resulting in the deaths of over 60 thousand people, the injury of more than 115 thousand, including around 18 thousand children and 12 thousand women, the destruction of over 300 thousand homes and apartments, and the devastation of schools, hospitals, mosques, churches and infrastructure—has not deterred the public support for the resistance. On the contrary, it has only deepened their attachment to the land and their refusal to accept displacement…. So, what more can Israel do, having exhausted every brutal tactic?!
Since the establishment of Israel 77 years ago, all attempts to subdue the Palestinian people and close the Palestine issue have failed… Over time, resistance has only grown stronger, more resolute and more innovative. While the costs and sacrifices have risen…, the path of resistance has increasingly become the one the Palestinian people rally behind, while the peace process option has faded and ultimately collapsed.
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In this round, Netanyahu aims to compensate for the failure to achieve his objectives in the war on GS, by scoring key victories and regaining the initiative to impose new terms. He will seek to avoid the obligation of ending the war and fully withdrawing from GS. Netanyahu will leverage US support to shield his crimes and brutality, as well as take advantage of the inability of the Arab, Muslim and international communities to halt his aggression and massacres. Furthermore, he will benefit from the complicity of certain Arab regimes involved in the blockade and eager to crush Hamas, along with anything related to resistance or “political Islam.”
Netanyahu will persist in his aggression and violation of the ceasefire to preserve his government, retain Smotrich, reinstate Ben-Gvir in the cabinet, pass the government’s budget, evade his trial, and further the Likud and Religious Zionism agenda of consolidating control over key aspects of the “occupying state” in its extreme “Jewish-nationalist” form. However, to what extent can Netanyahu escape internal obligations… as pressures mount from all sides, with growing convictions among the Israeli community that the war against GS is driven by his agenda rather than the strategic interests of Israel. Moreover, after heavy military losses, severe economic strain and growing insecurity, opinion polls indicate that a clear majority of Israelis oppose resuming the war on GS and prefer moving to the second phase of the ceasefire. Consequently, sooner or later, Netanyahu will be compelled to halt the war and reinstate ceasefire arrangements.
It has been evident that Netanyahu is not serious about implementing the ceasefire agreement and is instead using his control over the crossings and the entry of GS’s necessities as a tool of blackmail, a tactic that became blatantly evident with the complete closure of the crossings. He may have seen the new intelligence he gathered as an opportunity to target Hamas leaders and cadres who, engaged in civilian efforts, were compelled to move and appear in organizing daily life in GS, or any military and security personnel about whom he obtained information. While he may have scored some points in his latest large-scale war—resulting (within almost four days) in the killing of about 700 Palestinians and the wounding of 900 others—Netanyahu’s bank of targets will soon be depleted, leaving him trapped in his familiar cycle of futility, exhausting his army and its capabilities without any clear path to decisive results.
Netanyahu fails to acknowledge that Hamas and the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine (PIJ) are ideological Islamic resistance movements with a deeply rooted ideology. These movements are grounded in intellectual, civilizational, historical and cultural foundations that resonate within the consciences of the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim peoples. Any efforts to crush or uproot them are destined to fail, as their growing number of sacrifices and fallen fighters only enhances their credibility, strength and entrenchment.
Netanyahu is likely to employ traditional colonial tactics, such as killing civilians and pressuring popular support, with the immediate aim of not only freeing his prisoners but also disarming the resistance and possibly displacing as many Gazans as possible. However, experience shows that he will move from failure to failure. While more pain, sacrifices and innocent bloodshed are inevitable, all of this will only strengthen the justification for escalating resistance, rather than surrendering to the will of the occupation.
Netanyahu may seek to reshape the region’s map, align its security with Israeli interests, impose normalization and close the resistance file. However, his aspirations are not in line with his capabilities. Despite US backing and official Arab helplessness, the region is ripe for change. The same factors that fueled the “Arab Spring” are resurfacing, and the region remains in a state of formation and reconfiguration, with Syria serving as a close example. Furthermore, the peoples of the region remain united in their rejection of normalization and steadfast in their support for the resistance. Netanyahu’s attempts to impose more humiliating conditions on the Arab world will only fuel the region’s volatility. Consequently, issues like displacement, land annexation in the West Bank and GS, and the Judaization of al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem will push the conflict toward decisive paths, undermining the peace process and solidifying resistance as the only language the occupation understands.
In the end, if Netanyahu and his team seek to “resolve” the conflict, they are, in fact, accelerating the end of their occupation of Palestine.
By: Prof. Dr. Mohsen Mohammad Saleh.
Source : Al-Zaytouna Centre
