The horrendous events orchestrated by Hamas on October 7 have precipitated a severe Israeli incursion into Gaza, escalating into a humanitarian crisis. The civilian populace is now ensnared in the catastrophic repercussions of decades-long cynical policies, corruption, and power lust harbored by Benjamin Netanyahu. The unfolding calamity is a stark manifestation of Netanyahu’s myopic governance, exposing innocent lives to unspeakable horrors. As tanks trundle into Gaza, the Israeli invasion, long held in abeyance for humanitarian aid distribution and largely futile hostage negotiation attempts, is finally in motion. The ominous cloud of war looms, with the ceaseless dread of what the morrow holds, epitomizing the grievous legacy of Netanyahu’s tenure.
Undeniably, the genesis of this violent episode lies with Hamas, whose abominable massacre claimed over 1,400 innocent lives, besides abducting hundreds more. This act of barbarism is irrefutably condemnable, irrespective of the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause or the harshness of the Israeli retaliation. Yet, the seeds of discord were sown by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose actions catalyzed the October 7 atrocities, the Israeli counterattacks, and the ensuing ground invasion. The Israeli populace is now holding Netanyahu accountable for his government’s staggering military and intelligence lapses that allowed Hamas militants to breach Israeli defenses, occupy towns, and unleash a bloodbath on civilians, akin to a monumental tragedy on a national scale.
This massacre, though unparalleled, echoes the grim memories of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, where Arab armies caught Israel off-guard, inflicting severe casualties before being repelled. The aftermath saw Prime Minister Golda Meir resigning, a fate that might be awaiting Netanyahu post the inevitable inquests into the governmental failures. However, there’s a deeper undercurrent to why this war is synonymous with Netanyahu: his clandestine endorsement of Hamas to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state. Rewinding to 2000, Israel and the Palestinian Authority were on the brink of forging a landmark agreement for Palestine’s statehood in West Bank and Gaza, an endeavor that tragically fell apart at the eleventh hour, hurling the region into a vortex of violence and political turmoil.
The prospect of Palestinian statehood was a beacon of hope, yet an anathema to the Likud party led by Netanyahu. The coalition, mired in security concerns, nationalist fervor, and religious extremism, perceived an independent Palestine as a formidable threat to Israel. Over two decades, Netanyahu and Likud orchestrated a systematic sabotage of the peace process, undermining the Palestinian Authority, stifling Palestinian economic growth, propagating settlements, curbing dissent, and fueling Palestinian resentment. The very edifices of peace – private enterprise, NGOs, collaborative educational and cultural endeavors, and security infrastructure – were deliberately weakened, exacerbating the discord between Israel and Palestine.
The malevolent strategy of bolstering Hamas as a counter to the Palestinian Authority was epitomized when Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, albeit aimed at peace, inadvertently empowered Hamas. This led to Hamas’s electoral victory in 2007, bifurcating the Palestinian populace. Netanyahu’s admission in 2019 about facilitating Qatari financial aid to Hamas, to keep Palestinians divided, unveils a cynical tactic to render a viable Palestinian state unattainable. The tragic events of October 7, and the resulting Israeli-Hamas conflict, are the bitter fruits of a dangerous liaison where Netanyahu and Hamas, despite being adversaries, mutually benefit from the perpetual absence of peace. The poignant narrative of a 19-year-old survivor of the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre, echoing the anguish and rage of many Israelis, mirrors a grim reality: the harrowing cost of political opportunism and the unyielding hope for a peaceful resolution.
