Netanyahu and the Gaza Strip

Israel is already entering its fifth month in a war that is dragging on longer than necessary. This Gaza war is, in fact, the bloodiest and longest war that Israel has fought since 1948, the year when it was born as a state and had to face the coalition of Arab countries that Attacked the former British Mandate. At present, approximately 1,500 Israelis have lost their lives in Gaza and 130 hostages are in the hands of Hamas. The death toll on the Palestinian side is much higher. An estimated 25,000 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israeli military operations.

On the ground, Israel is still far from controlling the entire area of ​​the Strip. Its units occupy some areas of the north and center, including the city of Khan Yunis. Most of the coast and all of southern Gaza, as well as some neighborhoods of the capital, are in Hamas hands. In some areas, even Hamas commandos have made gains, reclaiming parts from which Israeli troops had already withdrawn and which they considered pacified. There are two areas in which Israeli authorities have ordered an evacuation, but this has not yet ended as resistance to Hamas commandos continues, especially in the vast network of tunnels that is slowly being destroyed.

The conflict is of such dimensions that it is not unreasonable to think that at the end of the military operations nothing will be the same again. This war is a tragedy for the Palestinians of Gaza. In addition to thousands of lives lost, the strip’s cities are in ruins, infrastructure is devastated and the population is facing a first-rate humanitarian emergency. The impact of the war will also last for a long time for Israelis. The public deficit has reached above 4% of GDP and GDP will grow much less than expected this year. The call-up of 300,000 reservists has strangulated the economy, removing many young and qualified people from the workforce.

In Israel they can’t wait for it to end and many Israelis are even considering ending the long rule of Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest serving Prime Minister in the entire history of the country. Public opinion has turned against him, with only 15% of Israelis wanting him to remain in power after the war. The same thing, the day after tomorrow, is the same thing that no one, inside or outside Israel, wants to address seriously. No one knows what will happen to Gaza and its residents the day the Israeli army ends its operations. Netanyahu maintains a certain ambiguity in this regard and does not want to commit to anything or anyone as he reads it internally. He wanted to wait for the war to end and try to take advantage of the outcome politically by presenting victory as a compelling reason to continue leading the government.

But the exact opposite can also happen. Over the past seven decades, whenever Israel has gone to war, veterans have played an important role in politics. This is something that must be discounted and will have a decisive impact on what happens to Gaza when this nightmare is over.

In response:

• oppression woman’s
• Pedro Sanchez and Story