My opinion of Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t changed much in the more than six years (closer to seven) when I wrote that I consider him one of the most dangerous people in the world. Indeed, his attempts to “reform” Israel’s judicial system to be more favorable to his actions bespeak an authoritarianism that should be anathema to anyone who cares about allowing the people their voice.
Which brings me to the events of the past couple of days. As I said in my earlier blog entry, Israel has every right to defend itself against attacks on her sovereignty. So when a massive attack was instigated by Hamas, Netanyahu responded as can and should be expected of any leader.
I concede that I’m writing these words from as far away from the carnage and chaos as is possible, so I can’t help but wonder how bad things must have gotten in the Gaza Strip that made the Palestinians feel that this was a step worth taking.
I also wonder about the massive intelligence failure that allowed this to happen in the first place. Israeli intelligence forces are usually pretty good at picking up on these kinds of things so that makes this doubly a surprise.
One or both of two things must be true: either Israeli intelligence missed some major clue that this was about to happen (including the scope of the attack), or Netanyahu let it happen in order to further his own political goals.
If it’s the former possibility, this is something that can be laid at the feet of Donald Trump. Two years ago, the CIA admitted that they had lost a lot of informants, largely because something about them was compromised. Compromised intelligence on Trump’s part goes back to nearly the start of his term in the White House, and is apparently still happening. Note that that earlier article speaks specifically of intel from Israel.
If it’s the latter possibility, there’s nothing like a good disaster that will allow a leader with flagging poll numbers to burnish his image and maybe allow him to pursue his otherwise unpopular agenda without much resistance. Even if this isn’t true (I’m not claiming to know the truth), I wouldn’t be surprised if Netanyahu manages to pass his judicial reforms now, while he’s waging his counteroffensive. After all, that’s how George W Bush was able to get support for the Iraq invasion.
Of course, resentment of Israel by the Palestinians is nothing new, but it does raise the question of why now? Here are some possibilities that may have been a factor:
- Iran. They’ve supported the Palestinians for years. Perhaps they are worrying about their status if Israel and Saudi Arabia actually do manage to negotiate a treaty, as has been widely reported.
- Chaos in Washington. Between Tommy Tuberville endangering military readiness and politicizing the military in extremely harmful ways, and the lack of a Speaker of the House, it’s entirely possible that Hamas is banking on Washington not being able to fully support Israel.
- Deteriorating conditions. There have been reports of Israel cutting off electricity to Palestinian settlements. Global warming is probably affecting them pretty badly, as other countries in the area have been slammed by harsh weather.
- Russia, hoping for a distraction from its own military push into Ukraine.
- Just a general lack of progress.
Already we are seeing the Republican Party starting to blame Joe Biden for this, but I don’t see how this can possibly stick. I’m not blaming the republicans for it but they do have more culpability at the way this wasn’t prevented, than Biden does.
Here’s hoping for a peaceful, speedy resolution to this violence. Netanyahu deserves support but that support should be limited just to the defense of his country and not to any other aspects of his leadership; not the continued settlements and certainly not what he’s trying to do with the judiciary.
Ramblings and Rumblings 