The Taliban won the war in Afghanistan, as the Vietnamese won their war, and the Israelis won the 1948, 67, and 73 wars. One may have different opinions about the results, but the concept of a military victory is clear.
If I thought that there was a chance of neutralizing Hamas and freeing the hostages, or that a government led by Bibi had the capacity to plan it, I might say “give war a chance.” I don’t, and I oppose this campaign in Gaza. I don’t see achievable results that justify a longer war, the loss of soldiers, and the suffering among Gazans. A different action must be chosen and I don’t know what it is.
I agree with the feeling that going to war just because we have to do something, and war is something, is not a sensible plan.
Hamas is connected to the dictatorship of the ayatollahs. Murdering Jews wins political support of the international left and of islamist sectors. It facilitates the repression of the #WomanLifeFreedom movement which will be the downfall of those tyrants. Surely there is a lot of genocidal anti-semitism inside Gaza, but the reason they act on it is because they are under Hamas, which works with the Iranian dictators. Otherwise things would be like in the West Bank, where Fatah keeps the more radical Arafat-style terrorists in check.
Sadly Bibi made it his policy to oppress further the population of the West Bank, while allowing Hamas to increase its power. It’s not that Israel controls what happens in Palestine, but Bibi’s actions too have consequences. Of course Israel can’t open borders, we saw what Hamas does if it can cross them, but life in Gaza under the Egyptian blockade is awful. Bibi and the West Bank extremists are trying to make life in the West Bank as bad or worse.
I have completely given up on the Palestinian national movement. Their leaders openly support the war against Ukraine, the genocide against Uyghurs and the Rohingya and in Darfur (who are Muslim!), and pretty much each of the most awful dictators in the world, as they have always done. To follow a long record, they spoke or acted in favor of the Turks during the 1st war, of the Nazis in the 2nd, of the Russians during the Cold War, of Saddam during the Gulf Wars, of bin Laden around 9-11, of both Assad and the rebels during the Syrian Civil war. I won’t bother to look at their support for Pol Pot which is my go-to litmus test for any part of the international left (they always fail). The people are not responsible for each of their tyrants’ words but such actions have consequences.
Nevertheless, one cannot just ignore the Palestinians and the level of frustration they have. Nonstop flights to Dubai or whatever it was that Bibi received don’t solve any problems. Something was bound to happen, and it did.
The only way out that I see is for Israel to say that they won’t agree to a cease-fire (which is just an excuse to retain hostages and rearm for terror, Russian-style) but they will agree to peace talks with the State of Palestine – implying immediate recognition. That changes the calculus of who has the initiative. The US can help by forcing Egypt to end its blockade of Gazans. If Hamas = Islamic Brotherhood threaten the Egyptian military dictatorship, that’s their problem. Helping them stay in power was a useful decision from 1978 that has overstayed its purpose. The political mood in Israel has moved further and further away from peace but perhaps they’ll reconsider in view of recent events. More likely not.
Israel is moving in the directions of becoming what passes as a normal country of the Middle East, more and more comparable to its neighbors, though at a much lower level of autocracy, misogyny, obscurantism, sectarianism, racism, and brutality. If someone thinks that becoming like the neighbors will gain them their support, or that of Corbyn, Mélenchon, Die Linke, or the like, they are wrong.
Shabat shalom!