Netanyahu's Hostage Crisis: A Questionable Gamble in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself embroiled in a complex situation, with hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza and political power struggles at home. Netanyahu has made it clear that he never intended to make any deal to rescue the hostages, nor will he do so now or in the future. He has essentially told the anguished families of those still alive, the grieving families of the deceased, President Biden, Diaspora Jewry, Hamas, and the world at large that his narcissistic egocentric intention is to continue waging war in Gaza indefinitely. His belligerent comments make it abundantly clear that everything he ever said to the contrary to Biden, Harris, Blinken, Macron, or anyone else was a sham - a delaying tactic, an outright lie. Israel's war goals, Netanyahu declared defiantly, are to destroy Hamas, bring back all hostages, ensure Gaza no longer threatens Israel, and safely return residents of the northern border. However, his insistence on the Philadelphi Corridor as the centerpiece of his strategy to scuttle any ceasefire that would rescue the hostages is of relatively recent vintage. It was only in July, after months of stringing people along, that he had an epiphany and suddenly took note of this corridor.

This lifeline came in the form of an ultimatum from Orit Strock, his hardline settlements minister, who threatened that if the IDF left the Philadelphi Corridor, her party would dismantle the government. Hearing this, Netanyahu must have figured he could use it to get out of making a deal. Biden, Blinken, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators, and his own Israeli team had worked feverishly on finding a solution, but Netanyahu was never going to accept it. When his own negotiators assured him they didn't consider an IDF presence in the corridor essential for security, he denounced them as weak. Netanyahu's arrogance is breathtaking and tragically cost the lives of six hostages whose murdered bodies were recovered over the weekend. Harrowingly, we now know that the Mossad director assured the Qatari PM that the IDF would leave the corridor in a proposed agreement. However, Netanyahu once again pulled the rug out from under his own negotiators, sealing their fate. It is Benjamin Netanyahu who is a moral disgrace. The heart-wrenching tragedy is that now we all know what many have known for months: rescuing the hostages was never his priority. All he cares about is staying in power and avoiding jail. His political future hangs on the far-right extremists Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. The fate of Israel, the surviving hostages, and Netanyahu's political career are now in the hands of hundreds of thousands demonstrating for his ouster as prime minister.

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