'Israel' is not only gone but in existential danger: NYT

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The New York Times
18 Jun 2024 15:37
3 Shares

The Israeli far-right government is pushing the occupation into a precarious situation, characterized by extremism and inadequate governance.

Listen

A protester burns an Israeli flag after the funeral of Palestinian Milad Said Ayyash, 17, who was killed after being shot by Israeli occupation forces in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, on May 14, 2011. (AP)

"The Israel we knew is gone, and today’s Israel is in existential danger," wrote Thomas L. Friedman, a renowned American political commentator, for The New York Times (NYT).

Friedman's article came as a follow-up to a piece where he claimed that "The Israel we knew is gone," receiving criticism for the assertion. However, the author has now doubled down on his remarks, blaming the far-right Israeli coalition government for placing the occupation in "existential danger."

He detailed the threats that "Israel" faces, from Iran, Ansar Allah in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, saying that they have "managed to put Israeli into a vice grip."

Importantly, he underlined that "Israel" has no military or diplomatic solution to these threats, saying that it faces possible war in Gaza, Lebanon, and the occupied West Bank. In detail, the author stressed Hezbollah's advanced military capabilities, namely its precision missiles, which could destroy key Israeli infrastructure.

"Israel’s relatively small combat officer corps has been so ground down, I cannot imagine how it could sustain a war in Lebanon."

He explained that the possibility of the three-front low-intensity war has the prospect of turning into a high-intensity war at any moment, saying that the prospect is "insane."

Far-right coalition brings criminal nature of 'Israel' to global forefront

Friedman chose to focus his article on the poor performance of the Benjamin Netanyahu-led government and the dark prospects that faced the occupation.

Explaining that Netanyahu has to consolidate power within the government to avoid legal repercussions, the author said that the Israeli Prime Minister "sold his soul to form a government with far-right Jewish extremists."

Friedman pointed to what he claimed is an Israeli rejection of "any partnership with the Palestinian Authority," and insistence on asserting "Israeli control over all the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Gaza."

The coalition has severely damaged the Israeli occupation, but the United States President Joe Biden, the Zionist lobby AIPAC, and many congresspeople, are yet to take action to stop the radical government, he explained. The "nightmare coalition," as Friedman described it, has pushed the inherent criminal nature of the Israeli occupation to the forefront for the entire world to criticize and oppose.

Friedman's remarks are not a rejection of decades of occupation, ethnic cleansing, and destruction of the region's social fabric, but rather come out of his support for "Israel". The author believes that a "pragmatic centrist government" is the best way forward for the occupation, encouraging the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia. He has also called for early elections to boot out Netanyahu and provide a government that can bring back stability to the Israeli expansionist project.

"For now Israel needs to get the hell out of Gaza and back into a timeout," he concluded.