In a recent opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Uri Misgav wrote:
More Isolated and Unhinged Than Ever, Israel Is Becoming the North Korea of the Mideast
Benjamin Netanyahu is not a prisoner in the hands of Itamar Ben-Gvir, isn't afraid of him and doesn't depend on him. That's a common mistaken perception. Ben-Gvir has no other government, now or in the future. If he withdraws from the coalition, Gantz and Saar's factions would keep it intact and even Lapid said he'd be happy to fill his place. Netanyahu is implementing Ben-Gvir's policy because that's what he himself wants now. An all out, multi-front war, until the "absolute victory" that will never be achieved.
The usual line is that Netanyahu is being held hostage by the extremists. It seems he doesn’t need them to keep his government going. Bibi and his Likud party have made common cause with the terrorist thugs and religious fanatics in the settler movement because they agree.
Preceding October 7th, the Israeli security establishment saw the deep divisions that Netanyahu was fostering in Israeli society as a grave security risk. The head of the research division in the IDF's Intelligence Directorate, Brig.-Gen. Amit Sa'ar said in one of two urgent letters to Netanyahu about the impact of his judicial reforms:
"creates damage to the three pillars that make up deterrence: the alliance between Israel and the US, the cohesion of Israeli society, and the strength of the IDF,"
His concerns were born out by the complete failure of the Israeli security services and the IDF on October 7th. The performance of the IDF in Gaza should reinforce those concerns as Hamas, despite an absurd imbalance of armaments and military technology, remains a fighting force. While the IDF has killed a shocking number of women and children, and completely leveled civilian homes, businesses, and infrastructure it seems its record against Hamas fighters has not been as effective as IDF PR flacks would like Israelis to believe.
There should be no doubt that for Netanyahu and his settler allies, this is a war against the Palestinian people with the aim of the complete ethnic cleansing and resettlement of Gaza. Just listen to the ministers and Knesset members from Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, and the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism at the “Victory for Israel” conference in Jerusalem. The Biden White House condemned the conference but Biden’s admonitions have had zero impact on the actions of these violent religious fanatics.
Undeterred by the ICJ, ministers and settler leaders promoted plans to expel Palestinians and ‘return’ Israelis to Gaza at a major conference in Jerusalem.
Daniela Weiss, Head of the Nahala Movement, one of the largest settler organizations calls for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza and its settlement by Jews. Not one Arab should be left.
www.youtube.com/…
Note that in his letter to Netanyahu Brig.-Gen. Amit Sa'ar lists “the alliance between Israel and the US” as the first of the 3 pillars of deterrence that Israel’s security depends on. Yet Netanyahu believes he can lead Biden by the nose into a regional conflict that would make Biden’s post-war peace plan an impossibility and would run completely counter to American interests. Why is it that autocrats always overestimate their strategic and intellectual abilities? However up until now Biden has not given Bibi any reason to believe he won’t be able to pull it off.
The US veto in the UN of the latest call for a ceasefire was a gift to Russia and China who got to grandstand about standing up to genocide (while engaging in genocides in Ukraine and Xinjiang). The Global South is outraged by Gaza and the US role in it. Brazil and South Africa have been very outspoken with South Africa taking the case for Genocide to the ICJ. China and Russia are desperate to present themselves as an alternative to the US in the Global South in a challenge to American hegemony and Gaza is a godsend in aiding their efforts.
Think about it. Russia has been intentionally targeting civilians in Ukraine for 2 years and has managed to kill about 500 children according to the Ukrainian government. The IDF has killed more than 12,000 children in 3 months and we are asked to believe it's not intentional. Really?
Gaza has become a touchstone to much of the world. The Arab Spring which spread like wildfire through the Arab world was sparked by one man setting himself on fire in Tunisia as a protest against corruption. Social media and the bottled-up social tensions with corrupt governments did the rest. Everyday images of Gaza on TV and social media are stoking rage throughout the Arab world. Arabs are comparing the heroes and martyrs of Gaza with their craven, corrupt leaders. Arab governments are very aware of how dangerous this could be. It brought a complete halt to negotiations for normalization with Saudi Arabia and Israel, while Egypt and Jordan are threatening to withdraw from the peace treaties they signed with Israel.
To a delusional Netanyahu, it’s all good, all part of his dystopian master plan of a Greater Israel by setting the region on fire and forcing the US into the conflict as an ally of Israel. That is not in the interests of the US. It could have a disastrous impact on the Biden campaign and our standing in the world at the worst possible moment.
It’s time Biden got in touch with his inner Dark Brandon and applied some tough love and shock therapy to Netanyahu and company.
- Sanction every participant in the Victory for Israel conference that called for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza
- Declare Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, and the Nahala Settler Organization terrorist organizations and sanction them.
- Start discussions with the UK and European Union to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.
- Make it illegal for any US organization to fund settlement activity in the West Bank or Gaza
If Biden wants his peace plan to ever have a chance he needs to do more than admonitions behind closed doors, and the occasional tut-tut from US spokespersons. Netanyahu doesn’t give a sh*t about talk that he believes will never be backed by actions. So the tail continues to wag the dog. Netanyahu continues to set US policy for the Middle East and that's not in the best interest of the US or Israel. The good news is the Gulf states are desperate to sign a treaty that would recognize Israel and include them in a US security umbrella. They need just one thing to make it happen - for Biden’s peace plan to be more than talk.
The choice is clear: Biden’s plan would bring peace and recognition of Israel and a Palestinian state with a trade and economic zone including the Arab states and Israel - or - Netanyahu’s plan for forever war, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Biden has the keys to which way this goes, but he needs to face down Netanyahu to make it possible.
This is where in the comments you will hear - but that leaves the terrorists in charge of Gaza!!!!! Yes, and it also leaves the terrorists in charge of Israel. We can’t wave a magic wand and get rid of Hamas, the settler movement, and Netanyahu. The US can however bring all its considerable influence and power to bear on setting out a path to peace. We can’t do that if we sanction Palestinian terrorists while we give bombs to Israeli terrorists. We need to reward partners for peace on both sides and sanction and penalize opponents of peace on both sides. Baby steps.