True to his traditional neo-isolationist approach, he has cynically suggested allowing the sides to fight each other to the death, as long as the US does not get stuck in a quagmire.
The soldiers who killed the captives will have to live with the event forever. This is a terrible tragedy, because after 70 days of cruel captivity, the three were so close to freedom. It is unclear how they escaped captivity – whether their captors fled, were killed or released them – and it is doubtful whether the answer to that will ever be known.
A combination of reduced combat intensity with increased humanitarian aid could prolong the duration of fighting, certainly if we add to this the morale Hamas can draw from the harm it has inflicted on our forces, the political pressure on Israel, and the bargaining chips it holds. Israel could then find itself slipping into a protracted quagmire, which will necessarily also increase the risk to our soldiers.
The notion that Israel should stop the war before Hamas is destroyed is dangerous. The communities in Judea and Samaria serve as the security buffer for central Israel. And some thoughts on the contemporary Maccabees.
If the choice is between life and any other alternative, the answer should be clear. Even for a hefty price, we must never give up what makes us who we are. We are a people who rose from the ashes to found our own nation state. We always have and always will choose life.
Insiders in Likud say that the prime minister's efforts to compare the deaths from terrorism following the 1993 Oslo Accords to the Gaza war were insensitive.
Thousands of people may lose their positions if the Democrats lose the 2024 elections. This political game creates increasing pressure on Israel – to provide a date for the cessation of the fighting against Hamas in Gaza and to find a solution to the humanitarian crisis in the Strip.
The unfortunate truth is that Hamas enjoys broad political support from the population of the Strip, which elected it in the past and may do so again. In the parliamentary elections in 2006 – the last held in the Strip – Hamas won 76 out of 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Out of the 24 seats in the five districts in Gaza, Hamas won 15.
While there is no talk on forcible transfer and no official plan has been discussed, there appear to be two camps over how Israel should address this question, in view that refugees in a war zone should be allowed to travel to host countries if they want to.
The mission has yet to be accomplished. The elimination of Hamas is neither only a military matter nor only a political one; it is a moral imperative. This touches on the roots of our existence both as a nation and as the state of the Jewish people and transcends present-day political or diplomatic considerations.