Hebrew Newspaper|| Netanyahu is determined to lose the United States

By Ben-Dror Yemini

Between Hamas and Israel, the majority of Americans support Israel. But woe to us if we consider this an achievement. One-fifth of Americans support Hamas, a "terrorist" organization that is no different in nature from Al-Qaeda and ISIS. This is a cause for concern. If we don't wake up, this could only be the beginning.

It is strange that this achievement is the one that Netanyahu is most proud of. He is the one who is supposed to be one of those who understand American politics and the Jews in the United States. He lived there for years, and was an American in every sense of the word. He knows that the unwritten alliance between the United States and Israel is not based on the basis of interests, but also on the basis of values. He knows that despite all the differences, the United States proved immediately after October 7 that it is not only a support, but also a lifeline. Yes, our situation was bleak. We found ourselves facing a “terrorist” organization that has been building “deadly” infrastructure for years, requiring a much greater military effort than we thought. Israel needed an airlift of military equipment much larger than it needed in the Yom Kippur War [the October 1973 war]. Joe Biden's America actually stood by Israel in fighting "terrorism."

But something has changed. We know that it was a massive and terrifying oversight that led to October 7th. It is a strategic and military failure. The problem is that strategic failure continues. We learned nothing from previous confrontations, even though the address was on the wall. Also, we should have expected the wave of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic demonstrations that swept the countries of the free world in general, and the United States in particular. But we did not want to see, nor did we want to hear. Even when things began to change, the blindness persisted. We are now in the fifth month of strategic default. It should have been clear to Netanyahu that the battle is not only military, but also political. It should have been clear to him that Hamas would pay a heavy military price, but the greater its defeat, the clearer the images of destruction and killing that would flood the media, and the greater its political outcome. Who would have believed that a fifth of Americans support Hamas? However, this is what is happening.

These are marginal people. We tried to convince ourselves of the theoretical framework that is still the reason for our failure. But this is not true. These are not only the protesters, and not just Bernie Sanders [the left-wing Democratic senator] and his ilk. Now, there is Kamala Harris, US Vice President, with her terrifying statement. She says in a clear voice what many in the American administration are thinking. It wants an immediate ceasefire for 6 weeks. But it does not say that this ceasefire is in exchange for the release of the kidnapped persons. Rather, it says that it may allow the kidnapped people to be released. And now Harris is eliminating the strong card that Israel holds to justify the continuation of the fighting.

We should say things as frankly as possible. Netanyahu insists that the United States will lose. He does everything in his power to enter into a confrontation with her. He says no, no, and no to every American initiative. What the protesters are saying, and what Sanders is saying, Kamala Harris is now saying. But enough, enough self-deception. We have a thousand arguments to justify our defeat of Hamas, even if the price is more destruction and devastation. We can say that this is what the United States did in Mosul and in Raqqa in order to subjugate ISIS. But we, in our foolishness, and mainly because of Netanyahu's strategic blindness, did our best to neglect the strategy that would have given us more support. We did not have to wait for the protesters, Sanders, and now Harris, to propose a ceasefire in exchange for the release of the kidnapped and the disarmament of the Strip. We could have stopped the fire, not for six weeks, as Harris is demanding, but only for 48 hours, for Hamas to send its response, a rejection of course. We could have repeated these proposals over and over again, in order to strengthen our political position. But we chose the “hammer strategy,” which, even if justified militarily, is considered political foolishness when it is the only strategy.

Harris has given us a big warning that cannot be taken lightly. It can be assumed that Netanyahu's policy of strategic blindness will continue on its course. But we cannot allow ourselves to lose American support, because this would be tantamount to suicide. We do not need Harris to declare a unilateral ceasefire, on our terms, in order to prevent the US administration from demanding this. It's not too late. If Netanyahu is blind, we hope that Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot will present an Israeli initiative that does not include any reference to a military concession, but which seriously strengthens the political aspect. But they did nothing, and so far, they have not provided an alternative, nor have they departed from the theory. Netanyahu is worrying, while Gantz and Eizenkot are not comfortable.