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People think Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bow to public pressure. It’s not going to work but it is making him angry. Workers have been agitated into calling a general protest strike. He sees that as an attempt to blackmail him into caving in on an important issue. Joe Biden wants a truce but that’s not Bibi’s problem. He has a nation to defend. Hamas wants Israel to back down on a requirement for the IDF to remain along the Egyptian border in Gaza. That’s so they don’t smuggle weapons back in. It’s also the last big sticking point to negotiations. Six hostages were killed as a negotiating move. Bibi isn’t blinking.
Netanyahu in charge
Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t caving in to the “general strike.” The disruptions around Tel Aviv on Monday, including at the main international airport, were a major hassle to some and ignored by others.
Israel’s Prime Minister was one of the ones who ignored it. The “deep political divisions” are apparent but not helping.
On Sunday, “hundreds of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets.” They’re protesting in “grief and anger after six hostages were found dead in Gaza.” Hamas killed them because they were about to be rescued. If they couldn’t have them to bargain with, they might as well be dead.
Netanyahu understands completely that they’re dead because Hamas captured them. Hamas intentionally killed them. Bowing in to the terrorist tactic only encourages the goat humpers to do it again.
If Hamas was really interested in stopping the war they would simply lay down their weapons and surrender. They could give all the hostages back to show good faith. That’s not what they’re after and Netanyahu can see that.
Their end game requires him to keep the heat on until he achieves total annihilation. Those hostages are dead in his mind already but there’s a chance a miracle could resurrect them. Caving in to Hamas isn’t the answer, only a false hope.
Maintaining military pressure
Others argue in support of Netanyahu and his “strategy of maintaining military pressure on Hamas.” It was their “October 7 attack into Israel” that triggered the war.
Keeping the military moving strong to level Gaza to the ground, along with blowing up the tunnels underneath it all, “will force the militants to give in to Israeli demands.”
Israeli troops were on the verge of rescuing the six hostages and that’s exactly why they were killed. The only answer Netanyahu and his closest advisers can see is “ultimately annihilate the group.” After the courts declared the strike illegal, the head of Israel’s largest trade union announced “it would abide by the court decision and instructed members to return to work.”
One delayed passenger at Ben-Gurion Airport noted, “there’s no need to punish the whole state of Israel because of what is happening, overall, it is a victory for Hamas.”
“No one is more committed to freeing the hostages than me,” Netanyahu thundered. “No one will preach to me on this issue.” The prime minister vows to insist on “continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor.”
That’s “a narrow band along Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel contends Hamas smuggles weapons into Gaza.” IDF leadership calls retaining the corridor “vital to ensuring Hamas cannot rearm via tunnels.” Netanyahu calls it “the oxygen of Hamas.” He wants to choke their air off.
