As Netanyahu prolongs 'Israel’s' genocide, reservists further weaken his standing
Netanyahu struggles to sustain the war on Gaza as military weaknesses, public outrage, and coalition fractures threaten his grip on power.
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Plenty suggests Netanyahu’s troubles can only increase. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail)
War criminal Benjamin Netanyahu and his newly appointed military chief Eyal Zamir are touting threats to step up "Israel’s" ongoing genocide in Gaza. This has raised widespread alarm within the Israeli military, where thousands of reservists are bracing for their possible return to combat. But weaknesses in the occupation’s warfare capabilities, rising domestic costs, and Netanyahu’s frictions with the ultra-Orthodox community show that prolonging the genocide is self-destruction in motion.
"Israel" will have no other choice other than cutting down its prolonged warfare. Netanyahu can tout all he wants, but the fact is that the occupation has avoided protracted conflict in the past because it cannot afford to “strain” its reservists. This is important because Netanyahu keeps touting more bloodshed and annihilation of the Palestinian people, but its own domestic costs are rising. There is ample anger within "Israel" over how Netanyahu has handled the war, offering a glimpse of his weak standing from a domestic perspective. The war criminal clearly has a habit of deflecting that domestic blowback by pressing for a renewed onslaught on the Gaza Strip, a vicious habit prioritized to advance his criminal objectives.
The public discontent stems from Netanyahu’s reluctance to prioritize a negotiated deal for the return of the captives. Since he hasn’t delivered on that objective for months, a push for prolonged genocide serves as a tactic to deflect domestic blame and gather support for the genocide. But let the facts speak for themselves: this could be Netanyahu fearing his ouster.
Look no further than the reservations of Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, who recently threatened to take down Netanyahu’s far-right and racist government. Their principal reservation: That their community members should be exempted from military service. It appears that Netanyahu is struggling to deliver on his own commitment to serve their interests, and thus, questions surround his push to consolidate influence.
But can that pipedream really materialize? Ground realities suggest that Netanyahu’s government is basically hanging by a thread: if the ultra-Orthodox agree to pull out of the ruling coalition, that could send Netanyahu crashing to the ground. There is considerable likelihood after a key figure within the alliance signaled that discontent is on the rise, and thus, Netanyahu cannot be trusted to cater to their interests at large. To hide the weakness of his coalition coming down, Netanyahu once again resorts to his desperate and humiliating playbook of advancing more bloodshed in Gaza.
Let’s be clear. Attacking Palestinians would certainly bring the Strip’s treasured resistance to the forefront, which never spared an inch in responding to Zionist aggression. And on the domestic front, Netanyahu depends on the approval of the ultra-Orthodox to fill military ranks for genocidal support. Now as members of that very ultra-Orthodox segment signal their disapproval of Netanyahu’s unkept promises, and shows no signs of budging, the Israeli war criminal is caught in a bind. What a humiliating sight.
Try all you want Netanyahu: you cannot keep your domestic exigencies out of public eye. The Israeli war criminal has a habit of prioritizing his sold-out, pro-government media enterprise to gloss over his shortcomings and keep the gravity of his weakened coalition out of public eye. But deep divisions within the coalition are now literally impossible to hide: Netanyahu’s far-right ministers have a tendency to mount similar threats when they look to further encroach upon the liberties of Gazans, or demand that Netanyahu exterminate more innocent Palestinians. Now let the unmitigated hate against Gazans backfire with twice the force on Netanyahu’s government, because the cries and pains of the martyred Palestinians would never go unnoticed. Things have a way of coming around, offering a powerful reminder to Netanyahu that this campaign of terrorism and mass atrocities against innocent Palestinians would never help consolidate his government. “If this matter [the controversial exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service] is once again sidelined or delayed for any reason, we will not be able to continue as partners in the coalition,” said Housing Minister and party chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf and two others recently.
Adding to Netanyahu’s woes is the tricky nature of engaging or disengaging ultra-Orthodox Jews. For instance, many may choose to overlook mandatory, pre-combat exercises and choose to undercut Netanyahu’s efforts for prolonged battlefield engagement. Their use of “personal reasons” to justify opposition to military service is proof that Netanyahu’s government is getting on thinner ice by the day.
Plenty suggests Netanyahu’s troubles can only increase. First, the Israeli public is not buying Netanyahu’s claim that the government is doing everything to bring the hostages home. They are witness to Netanyahu’s own breach of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, exposing the war criminal’s platitudes and confirming that the greatest obstacle to hostage release is the leader himself. Blaming the Palestinian resistance does not change the fact that "Israel" itself chose to pull itself out of negotiations that would’ve gotten Israeli captives home. With such domestic pressure bubbling up, and "Israel’s" ongoing genocide in Gaza firming up resistance resolve to respond to occupation crimes, Netanyahu is looking at capitulation.
Reservists refusing to back Netanyahu’s failed war and faux “triumph” is the final nail in the coffin.