-Analysis-
PARIS — Since the Hamas massacres in southern Israel on October 7, the conflict has continued to spread. It has ravaged the Gaza Strip in more than ten months of indiscriminate Israeli reprisals, which have already claimed more than 40,000 lives. It affects the lives of millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Acts of war have reached as far as Iran, as demonstrated by the elimination in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh.
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At each stage of escalation, the region holds its breath as the worst may be yet to come. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is demonstrating astonishing impotence. But one of the profound consequences of this tragedy is unfolding within Israeli society itself.
It was already polarized, before October 7, as demonstrated by the massive demonstrations of the most right-wing coalition in Israel’s history. The Hamas attack and its aftermath have deepened the divisions.
Drifting apart
The country is divided over the priority to be given to the hostages versus the objective of eliminating Hamas. To the extent that the families of the hostages feel that they are “troublemakers,” or even “traitors” who are preventing the warring nation from eliminating the threat.
The longest war in Israel’s history has radicalized a section of public opinion, convinced that its status as the victim of the October 7 attacks gives it every right, including the right to break the law.
Herzog saves the day, but the government remains silent.
The incidents that reflect this extreme drift are multiplying. When a Palestinian prisoner is sodomized by his guards with an object, and those responsible for the act were arrested, demonstrators invade the prison camp to demand their release. In the Knesset, a far-right member argues that guards have the right to do anything to prisoners.
A report by the human rights organization B’Tselem confirms that Israel’s prisoners are brutalized and mistreated; but it is ignored by most of the indifferent Israeli media.
In the same spirit, the extremist fringe of West Bank settlers harass Palestinians. It took an incident more serious, in mid-August for Israeli President Isaac Herzog to denounce a “pogrom,” a powerful word. Herzog saves the day, but the government remains silent, as it included supporters of the violence, and the vast majority of Israelis do not question the settlement deemed as “illegal” by a recent decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Taking advantage of the chaos
Taking advantage of the chaos of war, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is pushing ahead with the annexation of the occupied territories. It’s an old demand from the hard right, made impossible only by the international climate. Now they see an opening.
Not to be outdone, far-right leader National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem with a crowd of supporters despite agreements that forbid it. He knows the provocative implications of this gesture, particularly with regard to Jordan, which is still in charge of this Muslim holy site.
Palestinian and Israeli radicals are acting to prevent peace.
But Ben-Gvir does not want a ceasefire agreement, and indulges in a new transgression each time negotiations resume. With impunity, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs him to stay in power.
Other examples of this radicalization could be cited: Hamas officially nominated Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of October 7, as the head of the Islamist movement.
Just like with the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, Palestinian and Israeli radicals are acting to prevent peace, to continue their supremacist struggle. Like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, they advance because we let them: They are only strong because the world turns a blind eye. But for how long?
