In view of this murderous assault, the policymakers must decide to immediately topple the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip and to remove all terrorists and weapons from it. In a war of life and death we no longer have the luxury of adhering to the familiar standards of past operations.
Any reasonable person could see that disaster was imminent and sound the alarm. The defense minister did it and was fired (and then reinstated with street protests), and the chief of staff and the heads of security organizations did it, but the prime minister didn't want to hear.
Like in the Yom Kippur War, the entire political and security leadership is accountable for the failure. The dire result is that even hours after the start of the attack, which erupted at 6:30 AM, there were still besieged towns, terrorists barricading themselves in houses, and a significant number of civilians and soldiers who had been kidnapped and taken into Gaza.
For Netanyahu, securing the freedom of hostages comes with painful personal memories. In 1976, his older brother was killed rescuing hostages at Entebbe airport in Uganda, an action the younger Netanyahu said shaped his future life.
Israel is trying to bring Saudi Arabia into its orbit and to create a strong common front against Iran by reminding Riyadh that Tehran poses a constant danger.
For all the disagreements with Netanyahu, the US president will go down as one of the biggest champions of Israel and the Jews. What's more, he has stood firm against his own party's anti-Israel trends, stressing the moral justification for Israel’s existence and his support for it.
Instead of the long visa application process, Israelis will have access to the ESTA platform, where they would be able to get entry visas online almost immediately after they apply. No queue at the embassy, no interview, and no long and nerve–wracking wait.
One cannot help but wonder how in one meeting US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went from seeming enemies to friends.
In order to bring about normalization with Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu is required not only to agree to concessions and compromises in the Palestinian arena, but commit to preserve the existing legal and constitutional character and integrity of Israeli democracy.
“We are actively talking,” one US official said on condition of anonymity. "But there's not even a set of principles on what an agreement would look like right now.”
