Former Israeli chief says Netanyahu 'selling illusions'
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Gadi Eisenkot is calling for elections within months, accusing the government of lying to the public about its fight against the Palestinian Resistance.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the weekly cabinet meeting in "Tel Aviv" on January 7, 2024. (AP)
A new indication of a major division in "Israel's" war leadership has surfaced, following the former Israeli chief Gadi Eisenkot's call for elections within months, the Financial Times reported.
"Whoever speaks of absolute defeat is not speaking the truth,” Eisenkot told the Israeli Channel 12 a couple of hours after Netanyahu vowed to continue the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip until what he called "complete victory" over Hamas.
Eisenkot, a centrist minister and observer to the country's war cabinet whose son was killed in battles in Gaza last month, called it necessary to hold elections and renew the trust because there is "no trust" in the current government, who he accused of "selling fantasies" to the public.
The Minister called it "impossible" to retrieve Israeli captives without an agreement with Hamas and called for a halt to the war on Gaza for a “significant” time to implement the hypothetical deal.
Eisenkot expressed that releasing captives should be the main priority of the Israeli government and that this cannot happen using only military methods.
The New York Times detailed in a recent report that public sentiment in Israeli society is shifting from grief to indignation.
Netanyahu, on the other hand, stated in a press conference that "Israel" must "take control" of all "land west of the River Jordan," which would hinder the "two-state solution" concept.
US officials have been pressuring Netanyahu to move into the "low-intensity" stage of the war in order to "minimize civilian casualties" as global and public pressure grows on Washington for its support for the genocide.
Responding to the requests, he said the war on the Strip could take "many more months" and that "Israel" "will not settle for anything short of absolute victory," referring to previously declared objectives of "eliminating" the Palestinian Resistance and imposing a government without the participation of Resistance groups.
When asked whether he trusted Netanyahu, Eisenkot stated, "I am already at the stage and at an age where I do not trust this or that leader with my eyes closed, and I judge a man by his decisions and the way he leads the country.”
'Post-war Gaza'
Many US and Israeli top officials have increasingly sounded criticism of Netanyahu's war strategy.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned last month that the occupation entity was in danger of "a tactical victory with a strategic defeat" by killing civilians in Gaza, turning them more against "Israel".
Meanwhile, Netanyahu's local opposers are accusing the Prime Minister of leveraging the entity's state of war for personal political gains, which include dodging any talks to discuss "post-war plans".
"I would just tell you, nothing’s changed about President Biden’s desire that a two-state solution is really in the best interest of not only the Israeli people, but, of course, the Palestinian people — in fact, the best interest of the region," Kirby said after Netanyahu’s TV appearance.
"We’re not going to stop working towards their goal, and this is not a new comment by the prime minister. We obviously see it differently," he added.
"Obviously, the focus right now is making sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Hamas and that humanitarian aid and assistance continue to get to the desperate people of Gaza. But there’s going to be a post-conflict Gaza. And we have been exceedingly clear about what we want to see that look like."
Netanyahu putting cabinet before 'Israel', media say on West Bank
The Israeli occupation sees that the occupied West Bank is "on the brink of implosion," Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday amid heightened tensions and warning from the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and the Shin Bet about escalations in the West Bank.
The Israeli newspaper underlined that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prefers to jeopardize "Israel" rather than his government, which relies on expansionism and far-right supremacy, which it added could be concluded from Netanyahu repeatedly ignoring warnings issued by the IOF and various Israeli intelligence regarding his actions.
The report cited the double operation that took place in "Ra'anana", "Tel Aviv", killing at least one settler and injuring 20 others, saying it was an indication of an upcoming wave of similar operations.
The deterioration of security in the occupied West Bank and the probability of opening up another front in the war would constitute a huge threat to the Israeli occupation, Haaretz added.
