REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, by Andri Saubani, journalist Republic.
Two weeks after the invasion of Hamas militants into Israeli territory on October 7, Israeli military forces are currently preparing to launch a land attack on Gaza. It is known that only intervention from the United States (US) then postponed the implementation of the ground attack to give humanitarian aid the opportunity to enter Gaza first.
A ground attack with the aim of destroying Hamas’ strongholds could be a long and decisive war for Netanyahu’s political career as prime minister. However, even before the ground war has started, Netanyahu is already considered to be in a phase of political defeat by some Middle East studies experts.
Netanyahu’s dominance on Israel’s political map for the last 20 years is now believed to be approaching its end finish. It is predicted that Netanyahu will be forced to step down from his leadership at the end of the Israel-Hamas conflict, or perhaps even sooner.
A number of polling The latest broadcast by Israeli media reflects this prediction. Polling held by the Dialogue Center last week, for example, indicated that nine out of 10 Israelis characterized the Hamas attacks as a consequence of the failure of Netanyahu’s government. In polling Likewise, 56 percent of Israelis even think that Netanyahu must step down as prime minister as soon as the war ends.
For the sake of reversing predictions polling above, the war in Gaza is a gamble that Netanyahu absolutely must win. However, experts believe that this will not happen considering the chaos that has so far occurred not only in Gaza, but also the West Bank and also neighboring areas of Arab countries such as Lebanon.
The US was also reported by Western media to be concerned about the absence of Netanyahu’s long-term plans other than a counterattack on Gaza. Moreover, the barbaric attacks by the Israeli air force have sparked world concern; A wave of massive protests and demonstrations in several countries resulted in many civilian casualties.
The more Palestinians who have nothing to do with the brutality of Hamas die at the hands of the Israeli armed forces, the more pressure the international world, including from Jewish communities outside Israel, who do not agree with Zionist policies in responding to the conflict in the occupied land, increases. It is also feared that a retaliatory attack against Hamas without a long-term plan will cause the conflict to spread, involving countries around the region which could increasingly threaten the security of the state of Israel.
Not only is Netanyahu’s political career considered to be nearing its end, his ambitions as a legendary right-wing leader in a Zionist country are also in danger of being dashed. The judicial reforms that once sparked a wave of protests in Israel appear to be at a dead end, with the Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization process expected to benefit Netanyahu currently suspended.
If Israel’s attack on Gaza results in more civilian deaths, it will be very difficult for Saudi Arabia to sign a long-term normalization agreement with Israel. Even if normalization is still realized, it is very possible that Saudi Arabia will include clauses that will benefit the Palestinian people.
In fact, one of the tricks for normalization with the Arabs is Netanyahu’s attempt to send a message to the world that improving diplomatic relations with Arab countries can be carried out without having to think about the Palestinian issue. However, it turns out that before the message reached its destination, Hamas launched ‘sabotage’ and sent a message back, that the issue of Palestinian independence could not be eliminated within the framework of Arab-Israeli normalization efforts.
Will Netanyahu execute a ground attack on Gaza? And if the Gaza military continues to push gas into Gaza, how long will the war last? And will the war end in ‘victory’ for the Zionists? The answers to these questions will likely determine the fate of Benjamin Netanyahu’s political career.
2023-10-22 13:36:45
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