Since October 7, 2023, around 100000 Palestinians have been reported missing, killed, or injured in the Israel-Hamas war. Israel is committing ethnic cleansing in the Gaza enclave. The Israeli government has put the ounce of this war totally on Hamas. However, analysts around the world see this claim with much suspicion. Israeli forces are conducting indiscriminate operations in the Gaza Strip. Many hospitals, schools, Mosques, and Churches have been bombed by the Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7. More than 100 hundred journalists have also been killed in this war by the Israeli defense forces. The latter has not even cared about the United Nations workers’ lives in its indiscriminate bombing and killing in Gaza.
Israel’s intelligence agency is recognized as one of the best intelligence gatherers and infiltrators in the world. However, Hamas’s successful attack on Israel led analysts around the world to think that the country had deliberately let Hamas attack its cities on October 7 to find an excuse to materialize its covert plans. The Israeli government has long been planning to build the Ben Gurion Canal to decrease its dependence on the Suez Canal. The discovery of gas in the offshore region of Gaza has further added to Israel’s interest in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, the “Greater Israel” dream of the Zionists in Israel is also one of the main reasons behind this ethnic cleansing of the Gaza enclave.
Another major reason for this war that the analysts point to is Netanyahu’s ambitions to stick to power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been facing a hard time due to corruption allegations against him. Netanyahu was being tried for numerous corruption cases before the commencement of this war. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three cases, cases 1000, 2000, and 4000, registered in 2019. Netanyahu and his wife Sara are accused of receiving some valuable gifts, in case 1000, from Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood Producer, and James Packer, an Australian Businessman, in exchange for some political advantages and favors.
In Israel, Bribery charges can lead to a sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment, while fraud and breach of trust can result in 3 years jail sentence. These charges have made Netanyahu a controversial leader in the country. Before October 7, people around the country held numerous protests in Israel calling for new elections and replacing Netanyahu. However, the Israel-Gaza war has put a brief hiatus to these protests. Many analysts around the world hold that Netanyahu is deliberately prolonging this war to gain political leverage at home and evade corruption trials against him. Benjamin Netanyahu is also trying to overhaul the judicial system of the country. His political rivals have accused him of using legislation for his own benefit. However, Netanyahu has refuted all such claims.
Trials against the Israeli Prime Minister were put to a halt due to the Israel-Hamas war. However, they have once again been resumed. Netanyahu is facing multiple challenges at home. People inside the country are standing against him. Pressure against his government is surging inside Israel due to the high costs of war. The lack of any substantial victory against Hamas in Gaza is also haunting his government. Although Hamas has released 110 hostages as part of the ceasefire deal, almost 107 Israeli citizens are still under Hamas imprisonment. Families of the remaining hostages are demanding the government for urgent actions to get them released. Recently, their families broke into the Israeli Parliament protesting against the Netanyahu government as some hostages were accidentally killed by the Israeli forces. Reports demonstrate that even his war cabinet is divided on the issue of continuing the war. Netanyahu has repeatedly stated his intention to eliminate Hamas once and for all. However, even his war cabinet ministers know that it is impossible. Gadi Eisenkot, Israel’s war cabinet minister, has recently stated that the plans to completely eliminate Hamas are unrealistic. Furthermore, he called for early elections, stating that “Lack of trust among the public in its government is no less severe than lack of unity during a war.”
Netanyahu’s war policies are facing major blowback in the Gaza enclave. Hamas is effectively retaliating to the genocide being committed by Israeli forces in Gaza. Hamas has killed numerous Israeli military personnel. Moreover, a huge number of Israeli tanks have also been destroyed by Hamas, as shown in the videos released by Al-Qassim Brigade. Netanyahu’s policies are also isolating Israel internationally. Most of the Muslim countries see Zionist Israel as an enemy of their religion and humanity. The genocide committed by the Israeli Defense Forces has also been condemned by numerous nations and human rights organizations around the world. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has also rejected Israel’s plea of not hearing South Africa’s case against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, stating that many of Israel’s alleged actions fall under the violation of the Genocide Convention.
Taut Bataut – is a researcher and writer that publishes on South Asian geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.