It has become clear that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not the man of this critical moment, according to an opinion piece in the New York Times.

Serge Schmemann, a member of the American newspaper's editorial board, said that the destruction inflicted on the Gaza Strip has reached unbearable levels, and is even getting worse, and the Israeli government is under intense pressure from the families of the prisoners, who are demanding that it make every effort to release them before they die.

He added in his article in the newspaper that the United States and the Arab countries, “keen” to avoid a regional war, are trying to mediate an end to the conflict, but Netanyahu is obstructing these efforts.

He added that Netanyahu's insistence on achieving a "complete victory" over the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) without any consideration for the consequences or losses made him part of the problem. The writer warned that the Israeli Prime Minister is playing a "malicious" game by exploiting the war to serve his political goals, and the Israelis, most of whom support attempts to eradicate Hamas, are fed up with this game.

Rather, he was able to alienate Israel's most important ally, the United States, says Schmemann, adding that Netanyahu deliberately and openly defied American advice because it conflicted with "Israel's vital interests," despite the fact that US President Joe Biden showed his full support for Israel and Netanyahu after the Hamas attack. Hamas on October 7, 2023.

However, a member of the newspaper's editorial board believes in his article that the problem does not necessarily lie in Netanyahu's hardline position, which is shared by many Israelis who were angry about the Hamas attack on southern Israel that day.

He said that Netanyahu's confusion between leadership and political survival, with the widespread perception that he opposes any negotiated settlement, and any American advice or mediation, is not because he truly believes that this conflicts with the interests of the Israelis, as he claims, but because he defies American pressure. Also, his portrayal of the Gaza war as much broader than a mere dispute over the establishment of an Israeli state and a conflict with Iran serves his political goals.

That, at least, appears to be what the majority of Israelis believe, even those who might line up behind the prime minister's insistence on trying to eliminate Hamas.

According to Schmemann, how the war will end, and what will happen after Gaza, depends strongly on who will assume responsibility in light of the raging dispute within the mini-war government between former chiefs of staff Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot on the one hand and Netanyahu on the other hand, especially regarding what relates to the issue of prisoner with Hamas.

The writer concluded that Netanyahu had lost the trust of his people and allies, and that his latest maneuver was to include extreme right-wing nationalists in his government and begin to challenge judicial oversight of the government, which led to weeks of mass protests.