-Analysis-
CAIRO — Israel’s military Chief of Staff Herzi HalevI’s description of his forces’ mission in Gaza as a “Sisyphean task” was the most transparent and accurate expression of the occupation army’s dilemma.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war until “total victory,” his continued obstruction of negotiations, and his unrealizable visions of the so-called “day after” have pushed Israel’s government and military into a corner.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.
Halevi, who is the primary official responsible for Israeli Defense Force (IDF) operations and the single most knowledgeable figure about the situation of his forces and the losses they are suffering, sharply criticized the Israeli government’s war strategy and its failure to develop and declare a plan for the so-called “day after” in Gaza.
“As long as there is no political move to develop a governing body in Gaza that isn’t Hamas, we’ll have to act again and again in other places to dismantle Hamas’s infrastructure,” Halevi said earlier this month. “It will be a Sisyphean task.”
The language was a reference to Sisyphus who was — according to Greek mythology — punished in the underworld with the eternal task to roll a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down before he could reach the top.
Widening gap
Following in Halevi’s footsteps, senior commanders of the occupation army called on political leaders to take decisions and formulate clear strategies for the war, which have put Israeli soldiers at mortal risk on a daily basis.
Current and former military leaders expressed an increasing disconnect with the poor performance of their politicians. They all agreed that Netanyahu and his companions in the government failed to develop an integrated and clear vision for “the day after.”
Could the frustration turn into rebellion?
According to a May 14 report in the The New York Times, military operatives see their government facilitating Hamas and the resistance factions by allowing them to regroup in the areas that were supposed to have been “cleared.” This has exacerbated the difficulty of fighting and frustrated forces, as ceasefire negotiations remain deadlocked.
The IDF leaders’ sharp criticism of their government performance reflects the widening gap between the military and political leadership. It remains to be seen if the frustration could eventually turn into a rebellion, with some reserve soldiers already refusing to fight in Gaza.
Open dispute
In a report titled, “As Hamas returns to the north, Israel’s Gaza endgame is nowhere in sight,” The Washington Post highlighted the battle of Jabalia, the build-up refugee camp in northern Gaza which the Israeli military returned earlier in May, five months after it said it dismantled Hamas’ infrastructure there.
The Israeli military found stiff and surprising resistance from Hamas fighters who engaged in fierce battles with Israeli troops, proving the movement’s ability to survive, according to the Post.
Retired General Yisrael Ziv, former head of the Israeli military’s Operations Division, told the Washington Post that lack of political foresight have allowed the army’s previous gains to evaporate.
“If you are working only militarily without any diplomatic solution, you’re inside this swamp,” Ziv told The Washington Post last week. “Israel is stuck inside Gaza.”
“If you operate without any diplomatic solution, you are in a quagmire… Israel is stuck inside Gaza,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant to publicly warn his government against “eroding the gains of the war.”
Fire him
Netanyahu responded to Gallant and those who supported his call, whether in the government or the army. He said that any talk about the next day in the presence of Hamas “will be nothing more than empty talk.”
“I’m not willing to replace Hamastan with Fatahstan,” Netanyahu said in a video statement after Galant’s press conference. was referring to Fatah, the Palestinian political party that dominates the Palestinian Authority that runs the Occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, the U.S. “day after” position as expressed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken appears to increasingly be pushing back on Netanyahu’s hard line.
“We do not support and will not support an Israeli occupation,” Blinken told reporters during a trip to Kyiv earlier this month. “We also of course, do not support Hamas governance in Gaza … We’ve seen where that’s led all too many times for the people of Gaza and for Israel. And we also can’t have anarchy and a vacuum that’s likely to be filled by chaos.”
Boiling ties with Egypt
The scene of division within the political echelon, and anger and restlessness within the military echelon against Netanyahu’s government are just parts of the scene. Israel is still mired in the mud of Gaza.
In addition to the unprecedented crises afflicting Israel domestically, international outrage continues to mount, as Israel increasingly becomes isolated — and could even someday turn into a pariah state. New disagreements have surfaced between Israel and Egypt, which is turning up the pressure on the Netanyahu government for a ceasefire.
Such tensions prompted Cairo to take more severe positions compared to the first months of the war, which could jeopardize the 1979 Camp David Accords, according to Israeli retired General Yitzhak Brik.
Arab rulers are still tweaking plans for the “day after”.
Writing in the Israeli Maariv newspaper last week, Brick said that continuing the war would lead to the collapse of the peace treaty with Egypt, and Israel is not prepared to confront the Egyptian army.
With all these dark shadows surrounding Israel from all sides, some Arab rulers are still tweaking plans for the “day after” in coordination with partners and allies of Netanyahu’s government.
News reports suggest that Arab leaders have accepted participating in a security force in Gaza after “eliminating Hamas.” Some will pump investments in Gaza, which will turn into a financial and commercial hub under Israeli security control. Another group has their eyes on the shores of Gaza to benefit from gas in the depths of the Mediterranean – an area the Americans have their feet on.
But the “next” day will purely be Palestinian; crafted by the Palestinian people’s steadfastness, and planned by the resistance fighters who have done the best in recent days, and there is no consolation for the defeated and the hypocrites.
