A report published by the French newspaper L'Express confirmed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by rejecting peace and focusing only on his political future, is leading the region and the entire Middle East to the brink of abyss, and this explains the impasse that Israel is experiencing.

Writer Corentin Pennarguear added that Netanyahu emerged as a rising star of the Israeli right with his complete opposition to the Oslo Accords and the establishment of a Palestinian state. He benefited from the support of many for his theses and later won the elections after the killing of Yitzhak Rabin. He became the youngest prime minister in the history of Israel, and shaped the country according to his faith and personality.

Express quoted political scientist Liran Harsgor from the University of Haifa - as saying that many Israelis see Netanyahu as a cat with 9 lives, as his political career always seems to be on the verge of collapse, but every time he finds a way out.

Pennarguear added that Netanyahu is a politician "capable of manipulating public opinion in an unparalleled way, but he has never faced such a disastrous situation before, with extremely poor popularity."

The edge of the abyss

Express added that the Middle East is on the brink of abyss, as Netanyahu rejects any idea of stopping the war or negotiating with Palestinian leaders.

The magazine quoted Mairav Zonszein, a specialist in Israeli-Palestinian affairs at the International Crisis Group, as saying, “This impasse is the result of 20 years of drift by the Israeli right and the killing of the peace process. It is also the result of one man’s conviction that only military action can achieve peace.” Results".

The magazine said that Netanyahu has never hidden his fight for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and he also previously stressed that dividing the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is “an essential part of our strategy.”

According to Express, Netanyahu believes that power is everything at any cost, and he led his election campaign in July 2019 on the basis of this. The Likud Party published giant posters showing Netanyahu shaking hands with Donald Trump, Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin, “as the Israeli leader approached all illiberal leaders who despise Western democracies.”

In December 2022, after Netanyahu was rejected by all other parties, and was tried in 3 corruption cases, he decided to ally with the far right to form the government.

The magazine continued that Netanyahu was always keen to present himself as “the protector of Israel,” but what happened on October 7 made everything collapse, according to Mairav Zonszein, as he waged a war that seemed legitimate to his supporters.

The French magazine added that an opinion poll conducted by the Dialogue Center showed that 9 out of 10 Israelis attribute responsibility for the events of October 7 to the mistakes of the Netanyahu government, while only 4% saw him as the right man to lead the country.

Dangerous game

According to Express, Netanyahu is playing a dangerous game with the Americans during the era of his old friend, US President Joe Biden, who in 2014 summarized their relationship by saying during a meeting of the Jewish Federation of North America: “He has been a friend for more than 30 years.”

It adds that the US President criticized "the most extreme measures of this government, such as reforming the judicial system or supporting settlers in the West Bank," but without attacking Netanyahu at all.

But the war on Gaza - continues Xpress - is exhausting Biden's patience, as his support for the Israeli attack cost him several points in the opinion polls, a few months before the presidential elections.

Express says that Netanyahu also faces great international weight in The Hague, before the International Court of Justice, where the country born from the Holocaust finds itself accused of genocide crimes. In addition to the killing of more than 24,000 Palestinians, the accusation is based on statements by Israeli political leaders, who call for war crimes to be committed in Gaza every day.

In light of Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war, the French magazine quoted Mairav Zonszein as saying that the current war on Gaza “is a war without end. No one knows what victory will look like, and no one knows what the end of the war will look like, especially since Netanyahu has every interest in continuing it.” .

According to Mairav Zonszein, it is clear that Israeli society was shocked by October 7, but this war is creating generations of trauma among the Palestinians. She added, “We are not witnessing the elimination of Hamas, but rather we are witnessing the birth of something much worse,” as she put it.

Source: French press