• homura1650@lemm.ee
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    5 months ago

    So, the “Israeli” proposal Biden was talking about is not supported by Israel.

    On this specific issue, I’m not even mad at Israel. The US is free to offer potential deals. But it does not get to unilaterally declare that one side has agreed to it.

    The story would be different if Israel had a history of listening to the US and caring about its image. In that case, establishing a narrative that it is an Israeli deal would put pressure Israel to accept it; as the alternative would be to loose face internationally and embarres and hurt the credibility of their ally. Even in that case, it would be a tough call, because that kind of hard ball burns a lot of political capital. However, that is a moot point, as Israel has clearly demonstrated those concerns are not a major factor in its decision making.

    As to the merits of Israel’s decision to reject the deal. The complete military defeat of Hamas is a practical impossibility. At best, you will get a hollow victory where something forms under a different name.

    Netenyahu does list a more restricted goal:

    the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities

    What you are left with is pure terrorism. No counterparty you can negotiate with. No internal counterbalance that cares about civilian concerns (aa week as those voices are already within Hamas). Just a loose knit enemy with no interrest other than violence, and no capacity to surrender.

    Whats more, even in principle, Netenyahu’s position is incompatible with any negotiation. A deal entered into with an organization that has no military or governmental abilities is worthless. Hamas would have no capability to enforce the deal.