Israel’s war on Gaza rumbles on, even as international condemnation grows.Hamas has expressed that it is ready for a deal to end the war, even offering to turn over the administration of Gaza to a technocratic government. United Nations Security Council members have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a ceasefire, a resolution blocked from passing only by a United States veto.
But Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is adamant in its refusal of any agreement that does not include what it calls the “defeat of Hamas”, even if that means endangering the Israeli captives still held in Gaza.
“Hamas is already the weakest it’s ever been, and there’s nothing they can do that is remotely comparable to what Israel possesses,” writer and researcher on Israel-Palestine and founder of The Fire These Times podcast Elia Ayoub told Al Jazeera.
“There’s ample evidence by now that the only reason this genocide is ongoing is because Netanyahu wants it to continue. It’s clearly just an excuse to keep the war going.” Advertisement
Netanyahu is ‘reliant upon Hamas’
But why would Netanyahu want the war – which is Israel’s longest since 1948, and is causing economic crisis – to continue?
One answer is that the war provides a distraction from Netanyahu’s own problems.
Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has well-documented legal troubles; he is being tried for corruption. …