Frustration is growing in Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war against Hamas and his growing rift with President Biden, raising fears that public tensions could spark an increase in attacks from Iran and its representatives throughout the region.
Israeli Defense Minister Yovav Gallant is the most senior official to come to his prime minister’s attention, demanding that Netanyahu decide on a plan for the next day for the Gaza Strip after defeating Hamas.
“I call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a decision and declare that Israel will not establish civilian control over the Gaza Strip, that Israel will not establish military governance in the Gaza Strip, and that an alternative government to Hamas in the Gaza Strip Gaza will be lifted immediately,” Gallant said in rare and blunt comments as he commemorated Israel’s Memorial Day on Wednesday.
It was the second time Gallant had launched such a direct challenge to Netanyahu, having warned in March 2023 that the prime minister’s pursuit of widely controversial judicial reforms was threatening the country’s security.
The division that existed in the country at that time, some analysts say, contributed to Hamas’ calculation to launch its massive terrorist attack on October 7.
Gallant’s latest remarks came at the same time as five Israeli soldiers were killed in friendly fire amid renewed Israeli military operations in northern Gaza against a reconstituted Hamas. He also highlighted the need for Israel’s military to focus on the fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has increased in intensity; around 60,000 Israelis were displaced from communities in the north.
“Israel cannot cope with staying in Gaza, it is a lot of effort, a lot of money, a lot of deaths and casualties,” said Neomi Neumann, a visiting fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former head of the research. unit of the Israel Security Agency, or Shin Bet, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We don’t have a good solution, but staying in the Gaza Strip is one of the worst things you can choose. Remember, we also have another war in the north… So we need to focus there, where the danger is much greater,” Neumann said.
Gallant’s comments echo frustration in Washington that Netanyahu is resisting difficult decisions to conclude the war against Hamas.
“We share the Defense Minister’s concern that Israel has not developed any plans to maintain and govern IDF territory [Israel Defense Forces] cleans, thus allowing Hamas to regenerate in these areas. This is a concern because our goal is to see Hamas defeated,” a senior administration official told The Hill.
“So far he seems defiant,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (DN.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Hill about Netanyahu’s actions in the face of President Biden’s demands, in particular to delay a major military operation in the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Ill.), a senior member of the Foreign Affairs panel, criticized Netanyahu’s position.
“If Netanyahu’s plan is the permanent occupation of Gaza, that’s a worse plan than I’ve ever heard from anyone else,” he said.
And Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a warning when asked whether Netanyahu is an obstacle to U.S. interests in the region.
“I hope he’s not,” he told The Hill.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” last week, criticized Israel for failing to plan with the US and Arab countries for a solution to Gaza after the defeat of Hamas.
“We didn’t see that coming from Israel,” Blinken said.
“We have the same objective as Israel. We want to make sure that Hamas cannot rule Gaza again. We want to make sure it is demilitarized. We want to make sure that Israel has its leaders,” he continued. “We have a different way. And, we think, a more effective and lasting way to do it. We continue to talk to Israel about exactly this.”
The Biden administration is pursuing a grand strategy that includes the authority that can govern post-Hamas Gaza, and which is part of the so-called mega-agreement to establish relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Included in this is a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that allows for the release of more than 130 hostages held in Gaza since they were kidnapped on October 7. and Arab countries to participate in negotiations on how to stabilize Gaza without Hamas.
Saudi Arabia, while interested in deeper ties with Israel, has said it cannot recognize the Jewish state until there is a path to a Palestinian state.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will head to Saudi Arabia and Israel this weekend to continue negotiations on the mega-deal.
Sullivan is also likely to raise serious U.S. concerns about Israel’s military operations in Rafah, where the seizure of a key crossing with Egypt used for humanitarian aid deliveries and deepening offensive operations in the city have prompted Biden to take action. unprecedented last week: containing a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel.
“We need to consider the tactical battlefield situation in Gaza in light of the broader strategic picture,” Sullivan told reporters Monday at the White House, explaining Biden’s position.
“Israel’s long-term security depends on integrating into the region and enjoying normal relations with Arab states, including Saudi Arabia,” he previously said.
Biden has sought to balance unprecedented support for Israel’s security needs while grappling with domestic backlash over the massive Palestinian civilian death toll and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Although Biden withheld a shipment of heavy bombs for Israel due to his opposition to a large-scale military offensive in Rafah, the administration has preserved the vast majority of weapons deliveries to Israel.
The president this week transmitted to Congress for review a proposal to sell weapons worth $1 billion for Israel’s long-term needs.
“Even before being the ranking member of the committee, the hardest decisions anyone makes as a member of Congress are when human lives are at stake,” said Meeks, who has the power to stop or delay arms sales from proceeding as the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs panel.
The $1 billion sale is for weapons that will likely be delivered within two to three years, Meeks noted. Even as Biden and Democrats try to limit U.S. weapons that could contribute to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and large-scale destruction in Gaza, they are hyperaware of the threat posed by Iran and its proxy groups, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon. and the Houthis in Yemen.
The US helped lead an international coalition to defend Israel from an unprecedented attack by Iran on April 13, with the cooperation of Jordan, France, the United Kingdom and, reportedly, also Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. The combined air defense managed to shoot down almost all of Iran’s 300 drones, ballistic and cruise missiles.
But the continued success of such a coordinated defense will not be guaranteed if relations between the US and Israel and, by extension, Arab and Gulf countries are further strained. Discussing the future of Gaza is considered necessary to preserve regional cooperation.
“The US has a strong interest in having a Day After plan proposed by Israel and agreed upon by Jerusalem, Arab capitals and major international organizations,” Robert Satloff, executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote in the X.
“This requires leadership, creativity, vision and quiet diplomacy. If we do not achieve this, we risk condemning both the people of Gaza and the soldiers of Israel to an endless and, unfortunately, unnecessary war.”
Gallant, in his remarks earlier this week, reinforced the importance of the US and Israel projecting strong ties.
“There are some differences, but I emphasize – also in this war, the United States was the first to support us, in actions, not [just] in words, and the US continues to support us now,” he said.
“We resolve our differences behind closed doors, not through interviews or tweets.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
