Analysts pointed out that Netanyahu’s speech does not realistically mean taking new measures to change the geographic architecture in the Palestinian territories, but rather amounts to threatening a “harsh” war to restore his country’s image before the world, and in its region in the Middle East.
An Israeli news website previously reported that the Israeli Prime Minister informed US President Joe Biden during a phone call that his forces were forced to storm the Gaza Strip, after the major and sudden attack launched by Hamas, which controls the Strip.
A message about the escalation of the situation
For her part, Irina Zuckerman, an American expert specializing in security and strategic affairs, said in exclusive statements to Sky News Arabia that Netanyahu’s statements are a message of what the coming days will be like regarding the confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians.
She revealed the significance of Netanyahu’s speech on a number of points, saying:
The Israeli authorities warned civilians and asked them to evacuate the Gaza Strip before launching expected military strikes, because they do not want many civilians to fall and the war to continue for as long as possible. Netanyahu is not looking to force Gazans to move to Egypt or Jordan for geopolitical reasons, but internal displacement in Palestine will increase. It is unlikely that Israel will annex Gaza or the West Bank, after nearly two decades of Hamas control, because they are under full Hamas control and would require enormous resources to control. Israel has problems with internal security after several weeks of protests, and cannot afford to spend all its resources on Gaza, and the last thing it needs is chaos. In order to reshape the Middle East, he can only think about destroying the infrastructure of the resistance and its supporters. Rather, he will translate his talk into political influence and a quest to expand normalization agreements, to expand and integrate Israel’s defense efforts with neighboring countries. Netanyahu is committed to reversing the damage to Israel’s image, showing that it is capable of defending itself amid such an attack, and deterring any attempt to intervene again, and this will happen after an appropriate military response to Hamas. As a prelude to the plan, the Israeli army had already attacked thousands of Hamas sites inside the Gaza Strip, and it was expected, of course, a very strong aerial bombardment of Hamas areas that they use as intelligence sites, and for planning and launching missiles against Israel, in addition to liquidating leaders of the Hamas movement. If Netanyahu is serious about “changing the Middle East,” it will take much more than a response to Hamas to achieve this.
Gaza blockade
The Israeli Prime Minister explained, “What Hamas will go through will be difficult and terrible, and we have just begun the response campaign, but it will take time.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, adding that the new blockade would be total: “No electricity. No water. No fuel.” Also, Israeli Infrastructure Minister Yisrael Katz said that he, for his part, ordered an immediate cut off of all water supplies to the Gaza Strip. Following its meeting on Sunday, the security cabinet decided to halt the supply of electricity, fuel and goods to Gaza, and to destroy Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities. The Jerusalem Post quoted a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office as saying that the decisions aim to “dismantle the military and administrative capabilities of the Hamas and Jihad movements.” The crossings on the border between Israel and Gaza were also closed after the sudden attack by Hamas from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army announced the launch of a major operation called “Iron Swords,” targeting the Hamas movement in Gaza. Israeli warplanes fired several missiles at a target in western Gaza City, while several explosions were heard in other areas. The Israeli army decided to call up 300,000 reserve soldiers, in the largest call-up operation the Hebrew state has ever witnessed.
#response #change #Middle #East #Netanyahu
2023-10-09 15:44:34
