What Does Haniyeh's Assassination Imply?
Israel has wavered between 'total victory' over Hamas and pursuit of a deal. The strike in Iran may end that argument.
by Daniel Pipes
The Wall Street Journal
July 31, 2024
https://www.meforum.org/66009/
     |
Published originally under the title "Netanyahu Decides, and Haniyeh Is Gone."
Israel followed two opposite policies toward Hamas since Oct. 7: destroy the organization and make a deal with it. This unfortunate two-track approach resulted in many costs to Israel. The killing of Ismail Haniyeh Wednesday perhaps marks the end of this protracted indecision.
The former policy, victory over Hamas, has wide appeal and is articulated often by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I count 182 mentions by him of "victory" in 63 discrete statements. "Our victory is your victory," he said June 6 on French television. "Our victory is the victory of Israel against antisemitism. It is the victory of Judeo-Christian civilization against barbarism. It is the victory of France."
Mr. Netanyahu speaks of "complete victory," "total victory," "clear victory," "absolute victory," "decisive victory" and "full victory." He wore a "Total Victory" baseball cap on his flight to the U.S. last week and at his visit with Donald Trump.
But Mr. Netanyahu also pursues the latter, opposite policy: negotiate with Hamas and permit it to survive in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. ... [To read the full article, please go to wsj.com.]
Mr. Pipes is president of the Middle East Forum and author of Israel Victory: How Zionists Win Acceptance and Palestinians Get Liberated.
No comments:
Post a Comment