During a recent televised news conference, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated for the record that Israel will not bow to outside pressures on how it should conduct its war against Hamas in Gaza because Israel has the absolute right to defend itself from future surprise, unprovoked massacres of Israelis, like the one on October 7, 2023 where 1,200 were brutally murdered and about 240 were taken as hostages. He promised that Israel will stay in this war until all of Israel’s goals are achieved. He declared that “eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel” were the goals.
He’s defiant in the face of having to answer to South Africa’s accusation presented before the International Court of Justice in the Hague on January 12, 2024, that Israel is guilty of committing genocide on Gazan Palestinians.
The attitude by some Israeli military officers as described in South Africa’s 84-page case accusing Israel of genocide are reflected in their comments like, the Palestinians are animals and that all Gazans are complicit in the Hamas brutal attack on Israelis on October 7, 2023. This mindset helps to explain how 3 bare chested, flag waving Israeli hostages, speaking Hebrew were gunned down by Israeli soldiers without a second thought. They were viewed as animals, first. It never occurred to these Israeli soldiers that even if these 3 hostages were Palestinians, they still had an obligation to not kill them as they would have been indicating the universal sign of surrender.
What bothers me most, is that Israeli right-wing government officials are not being held to account NOW vs. post war for discounting its possession of ample, timely, accurate, detailed intelligence gathered from allies and from within prior to the October 7th Hamas attack, especially with its highly reputable intelligence gathering services like Shin Bet, the IDF, Mossad and others?
It seems to me that if proof were to be presented to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, regarding all the prior warnings shared with Israeli high-level officials about the imminent Hamas attack, that the defense of self-protection would be weakened.
Considering that Israel has defined Hamas as an Iranian backed terrorist organization with a charter calling for the extermination of Israel, and which has conducted multiple attacks against Israel from Gaza within the past couple of decades, it’s almost impossible to take the Israeli extreme right governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu words at face value, that they discounted the avalanche of warnings because they couldn’t imagine Hamas having the capability of implementing such an attack plan.
This is especially incredulous as the prime minister had approved the funneling millions of dollars to Hamas via Qatar over years and even within weeks of the October 7th attack. What did Israeli officials think that Hamas in Gaza was doing with all these monies? This scenario reminds me of the farmer deliberately fattening up a pig to be delivered to the slaughterhouse.
Despite U.S. frequent efforts of shuttle diplomacy designed to limit Israel’s war on Hamas to within Gaza, Gazan civilian casualties and its widespread scorched earth war tactics, plus the political scarlet letter of being credibly accused of genocide, the Israeli prime minister and his extreme right coalition members are at best, giving lip service to all this background noise.
See: Israeli intelligence leak details extent of warnings over Hamas attack/ Guardian…
Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago/ NYT
Egypt warned Israel days before Hamas struck, US committee chairman says/ BBC
How Israel’s Security Services Failed to Stop Hamas – NYT
US needs to face reality that Israel isn’t listening. Recent polls show that Prime Minister Netanyahu has a popularity rating of 15%. Once he leaves office, he’s facing multiple criminal indictments. 69% of Israelis want him to step down from power as soon as the war ends. In short, the Israeli Trump-like prime minister benefits only if he can extend and expand the war as much as he can. Why would U.S. continue to risk its national security interests by backing this bad actor?
As per the January 14, 2024 Washington Post article, “In defiant speech, Netanyahu marks 100 days of war with vow to continue fight” by Niha Masih writes about Netanyahu’s defensive posture:
Excerpts:
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu marked 100 days of the war in Gaza with a vow that “nobody will stop” Israel’s forces until their “total victory.”
“In a defiant speech that followed two days of hearings at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, where Israel faces allegations of committing genocide in Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel will not stop fighting until Hamas is eliminated and all hostages are freed.”
“We will restore security to both the south and the north. Nobody will stop us,”
“South Africa’s landmark case at the World Court also asked the court to take urgent steps to prevent further violence in Gaza while the case proceeds. Israel categorically rejected the allegations, saying any provisional measures to stop the violence would threaten Israel’s ability to defend itself.”
“The Israel Defense Forces also announced that it had approved plans for its Southern Command to continue combat in Gaza, which is now focused on the center and south of the Strip. Head of the IDF, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said that military pressure on Hamas was the only way to bring back the hostages in Gaza.”
“Halevi said the IDF will investigate the events that led to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, though the date of the inquiry has yet to be determined. “It is right and proper to ask us questions and to criticize us,” he said.”
“In a warning to Hezbollah, he added that Israel is “operating freely in Lebanese airspace” and accused the militant group of operating as a shield for Hamas on Iran’s behalf.”
Nicholas Kristof argues that because Hamas committed war crimes, Israel shouldn’t act likewise, as this stance is counterproductive towards achieving its goal of keeping Israelis safe from future similar attacks. As per the January 13, 2024 NY Times report, “The Things We Disagree On About Gaza:
Excerpts:
“I think it’s a fallacy that the Israeli military has a binary choice: either to level Gaza or to do nothing. I’d like to see Israel dial way back on what is always a continuum.”
“For example, Israel had dropped 29,000 bombs, munitions and shells by mid-December, while the United States dropped 3,678 munitions in Iraq between 2004 and 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal.”
“The Biden administration itself has repeatedly answered the question of what Israel should do. It sent military leaders to Jerusalem to offer advice and it regularly counseled using greater efforts to spare civilians — instead of Israel’s pattern of what President Biden termed “indiscriminate bombing.”
“The longer this war goes on, the greater the risk of a conflagration involving Israel and Lebanon, an uprising in the West Bank, a greater crisis in the Red Sea or even a war with Iran. None of that would make Israel more secure.”
“That’s one of my prime concerns about this war: To me, it’s not clear that the enormous bloodshed, public health crisis and risk of famine actually advance security, or that Israel has a workable plan for what follows the fighting.”
“Negotiation and exchanges have done a much better job liberating hostages than bombardment. So far Israeli troops have killed more hostages than they have freed (one, at the beginning of the war).”
“The attack on Oct. 7 was particularly savage. Some Gazans tortured, raped and murdered Israeli citizens on Oct. 7 because they saw the world through a bigoted prism and stereotyped and dehumanized Jews. We should not reciprocate with our own version of collective guilt that leaves vast numbers of Gazan children wrapped in tiny shrouds.”
Israel’s military has repeatedly attacked the US-backed Lebanese army to the north over the past 2 months, prompting alarm in the Biden administration and sharp rebukes from top US officials to Israeli leadership.”
“The Israelis have struck Lebanese Armed Forces positions more than 34 times since October 7, including with small arms and artillery fire, drones and helicopters, according to US officials, a regional security source, and a list of the incidents compiled by the US and reviewed by CNN.”
“The Biden administration has told Israel that the strikes are unacceptable, officials said.
“But the scope of the incidents, which has not been previously reported, has frustrated US officials because the US believes the LAF will need to be part of any eventual diplomatic solution between Israel and Lebanon to quiet the current violence. The US is also deeply concerned that the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could expand to the north, and US officials have been working with Israel and Lebanon to try to contain the war.”
“The United States has been clear we do not want to see this conflict spread to Lebanon and we continue to urge the Israelis do all they can to be targeted and avoid civilians, civilian infrastructure, civilian farmland, the UN, and the Lebanese Armed Forces,” a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council told CNN. “The US is proud of its partnership with the LAF, an essential institution, not only to the stability and security of Lebanon, but of the entire region.”
“A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces told CNN that any harm caused “to other forces is unintentional.”
“In response to Hezbollah’s aggression, the IDF strikes the terrorist organization’s military infrastructure and works to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel,” IDF spokeperson Nir Dinar said.
“The Lebanese military is not as strong as Hezbollah, which gets funding, training and weapons from Iran and is one of the most formidable paramilitary forces in the Middle East. But the US backing of the LAF gives Washington a partner in an active region that it can work with on a range of priorities, including counterterrorism.”
“US officials believe Israel’s attacks on the Lebanese military have resulted in at least eight injuries and one death since October 7.”
“That followed an October incident in which Israel reportedly used US-supplied white phosphorous munitions and injured at least nine civilians, according to The Washington Post. The White House said it would be seeking answers from Israel about its use of white phosphorous.”
“The IDF’s continued pattern of strikes against LAF positions are concerning and irresponsible. The LAF is a critical and independent force that successive US administrations have supported in recognition of its important role in stability in Lebanon,” said a senior congressional aide.”
“On October 13, a Reuters journalist was killed and 6 other journalists were wounded in two tank artillery strikes in southern Lebanon while covering the fighting. The journalists, clearly wearing blue flak jackets marked ‘Press’, were on an exposed hilltop as Israeli helicopters and drones buzzed above.”
“Investigations by 2 human rights groups as well as Reuters and Agence France-Presse found that the targeting was likely deliberate.”
Gronda Morin 
What a surprise….they have seldom listened to the US on anything. chuq
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Hi!
But Israel is taking lots of US monies and arms while giving US diplomats, the finger. It’s becoming obvious to me that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his like-minded extreme right coalition cohorts are hoping to extend Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza until at least when the US November 2024 presidential elections are held, in the hope that the republican MAGA ex-president wins. The republican U.S. MAGA ex-president wouldn’t see any problems with Israel’s current war tactics.
I’m thinking that President Biden’s administration is finally becoming sick and tired of seeing Israel’s finger. We’ll see what the future brings in these crazy times.
Hugs, Gronda
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We will see…..they talk a good game but in the end will turn a blind eye. chuq
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Hi Gronda, “in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” George Orwell. 1984.
Hugs love and respect from your antipodean friend. gary j
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Hi Gary,
Thank you for being my antipodean friend and for your words of encouragement.
Hugs, Gronda
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