Benjamin Netanyahu is a survivor whose days are numbered. Or not. In the streets of Tel-Avivo Jerusalem it is difficult to find any Israeli who speaks well of the prime minister who was not able to prevent the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, in a nation that has made security a national brand.
At home, the Likud leader resents the survivors of Hamas' massacre of kibbutzim, Moishavs and other surrounding towns in Gaza, where at least 1,200 people were killed and about 240 were kidnapped. And the families of the 138 hostages who remain in captivity, who demonstrate every day in front of the Ministry of Defense, in Tel-Aviv, and who feel that Netanyahu is not doing everything possible to free their loved ones, especially after withdrawing from Doha the Mossad negotiators after the breakdown of the truce. After that, the families raised their voices openly criticizing the Government and the war cabinet and seeking help in international areas. Yesterday a group of relatives was received by President Joe Biden.
The conservative politician already had a large part of the population against him before the war, due to his corruption trials and the controversial attempt at judicial reform, which generated mass protests in the streets.
It has been 69 days since the Hamas attack and a month and a half since the ground offensive began on October 27. The holiday of Hanukkah will end tomorrow, when it will be eight days since its beginning, in which millions of candles have been lit for the light to end the dark times, but it does not seem that the darkness of war must end quickly, despite the fact that ground troops are already fighting all over the strip, hard in Khan Iunis and Gaza City.
There is a widespread indifference in Israeli society regarding the mass slaughter of Palestinians; the public is aware of the deaths of thousands of children, despite the fact that the Hebrew media hardly shows any images other than of its soldiers in action, but it considers that there is no other way to eliminate, an organization that wants to destroy the State of 'Israel and the Jewish people. To try to avoid this, 115 soldiers have already died in Gaza, the last ten in an ambush in Gaza City, the capital of the strip that Israel said weeks ago it had under control. 1,645 more have been injured. There is no criticism of the Government for the deaths of soldiers in a militarized country full of reservists and armed civilians. Among the soldiers killed in combat is even the son of a minister who is a member of the war cabinet, Gadi Eisenkot.
"Netanyahu is finished". A phrase that this special envoy has heard in the last month from the mouths of Israelis of all conditions and ages. But first the war must end.
On the international level, Netanyahu is running out of oxygen faster. The images of dead, wounded, mutilated Palestinian children that are not seen in Israel are broadcast on televisions around the world. Israel has already killed 18,608 people and injured 50,594. Of course, the autocratic Arab states denounced the invasion of Gaza from the first minute – with statements, rather than actions –; but also European states, such as Spain, or Latin American states, such as Colombia or Chile, questioned the bombings on the strip and confronted Netanyahu with diplomatic consequences. International organizations, such as the UN or the WHO criticized Israel; organizations such as the Red Cross, or organizations that are in Gaza, such as Doctors Without Borders, do not stop doing it.
However, only the position of the United States can have influence on the Israeli Government. On Tuesday, Biden raised the tone and told Netanyahu that he "must change", that he must be more flexible. He was referring to the closed attitude towards the day after the war, but also that the indiscriminate bombings are causing Israel to "begin to lose" international support.
The White House wants to advance the two-state solution. Not only does Israel not want to, it has already signaled that it wants to keep troops in Gaza after the war. And he also doesn't like the Palestinian National Authority (ANP) controlling the strip. The current president of the EU, Pedro Sánchez, openly facing Netanyahu, will tomorrow take advantage of this "disagreement" - as the Israeli prime minister called it - between the United States and Israel to ask the European Council for a ceasefire and advance his proposal of international conference for the solution of the two states.
But Netanyahu continues with the song of the angry, day after day. "Nothing will stop us", he said yesterday during the visit to a military intelligence unit, responding to "international pressures". And then, with reference to electronic technology, he added: "Sophistication saves many lives".
Meanwhile, in Jenin (West Bank), an army raid that began on Tuesday and lasted until yesterday left six Palestinians dead, plus a sick 13-year-old boy who died because the military blockade of the city prevented him from receiving medical assistance . There were also a hundred detainees, among them Ahmed Tobasi and Mustafa Xeta, directors of the local oenagé The Freedom Theater, a theater school in the refugee camp. Xeta was interviewed a few days ago by this special envoy.
In this context, it is not surprising that a survey by a Palestinian opinion institute made public yesterday that Hamas has doubled its political support after the start of the war. If elections were held in Palestine today, the Islamist party would get 44% of support, compared to 22% before October 7. In addition, 88% of respondents call for the resignation of the president of the ANP, Mahmud Abbas.
