Haaretz said that all indications indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not intend to risk sacrificing his far-right coalition in order to reach a ceasefire agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) because for him the detainees can wait.

The Israeli newspaper explained - in a column by its writer Amos Harel - that CIA Director William Burns will arrive in Cairo in an attempt to move forward the talks regarding the release of detainees, after Hamas presented high-level or almost impossible demands. The American administration believes that it has not closed the door, but Netanyahu has. He has a different impression or is restricted by political considerations related to his fear of concessions that might affect his relations with the extreme right wing of his coalition.

As part of an attempt to intimidate Hamas, Netanyahu announced that he had instructed the army to prepare to seize Rafah and to prepare to evacuate the civilian population from the area, because their evacuation is part of an American demand if Israel wants to follow through with this plan, as reports indicate that dozens of Egyptian tanks have moved to the northeastern part of Sinai Peninsula with the aim of preventing the escape of Gaza residents to Egypt.

Clear intentions

The writer pointed out that Netanyahu's intentions are clear in the way his mouthpieces behave, and in the pressure that his office is exerting on members of the Likud government to announce their opposition to the proposed detainees deal. Indeed, commentators on Channel 14 are preparing public opinion for the necessity of abandoning the idea of returning the detainees to the homeland, in order to Achieving final victory, and “the suspicious arms of the poison spewing apparatus are engaged in a campaign of slander against the families of detainees,” according to the Israeli watchdog organization.

It is no wonder in these circumstances that Americans are angry - as the writer says - and that not a day goes by without President Joe Biden or other senior officials directly attacking Netanyahu’s behavior, and this anger translates into more severe steps against extremist settlers in the West Bank.

The writer pointed out that Naomi Newman, who two years ago was a senior analyst in the Shin Bet security service, called - in an article on the website of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy - to focus on the return of detainees and on the neutralization of Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, led by Yahya Sinwar.

Newman believes that Hamas leaders inside the Gaza Strip have reservations about the idea of redistributing power in the Strip and sharing it with the Palestinian Authority, while leaders outside the Strip, led by Khaled Meshaal, are more open to this idea.

The burden is on the soldiers

Netanyahu's spokesmen insist on concealing or downplaying the heavy burden borne by Israel's soldiers, with reservists, most of whom have been discharged, complaining about the inept way in which the state is dealing with the damage to their families and businesses during their absence, and many in the army's conscript units are angry. regarding basic conditions such as food and hygiene, and the obtuseness of senior commanders regarding the need to give these soldiers periods of rest.

In the long term, and despite the prevailing belief in the “justice” of embarking on this war, a crisis is developing, at a time when Netanyahu is making promises of a long war that will lead to complete victory, especially since a feeling of bitterness is growing with the return of reserve soldiers to their homes in response to steps of the coalition and the army.

Despite these circumstances, the Israeli army plans - as the author says - for soldiers to remain in combat units in reserve service for at least 35 days annually, and to raise the age at which reserve service ends from 40 to 46 years, and there is also a coordinated move to ensure a comprehensive exemption from military service. For religious school students.

The writer wonders: Will this be the straw that breaks the camel's back and prompts a broader popular protest movement against Netanyahu? Especially since there is a new failure added to the questionable achievements of this government, after the credit rating agency Moody's lowered Israel's rating. However, the Prime Minister announced that the decision has nothing to do with the economic situation, while his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is convinced that this is just a political and ani-Israel statement .