I feel sorry for the majority of people in Israel who want their country to do everything possible to save the lives of the remaining hostages kept captive by Hamas, but have to deal with a leader, Prime Minister Netanyahu, who only cares about staying in power, not what's best for Israelis.
If that sounds just like Donald Trump, no big surprise. Trump and Netanyahu are close with each other, sharing a bond of unbridled egotism, self-centeredness, and a desire to remain in power in order to forestall legal proceedings accusing them of criminality.
Recently six hostages were killed by Hamas as Israeli troops were closing in on their tunnel location in Gaza. Several of the hostages were slated to be released in the first phase of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that remains stalled -- primarily because Netanyahu keeps making more demands of Hamas.
Intense anger over Netanyahu's stonewalling of a hostage deal sent hundreds of thousands of Israelis into the streets in protest. That was followed by a general strike that shut down parts of the country before those striking were ordered back to work by an Israeli court.
What's bizarre is that Republican politicians in the United States have been criticizing Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and other Democrats for calling for a cease fire to be negotiated with Hamas, which is the only way the remaining hostages are going to be released. They call this anti-Israel and pro-Hamas.
So what are those hundreds of thousands of Israelis who also are demanding a cease fire? Are they anti-Israel and pro-Hamas? Of course not.
They're patriots who detest Hamas, just as Harris, Biden, and other Democrats are. They simply don't see any point in prolonging the war now that most of Gaza has been destroyed, tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians killed, and Hamas reduced to a shadow of its former self.
Netanyahu's own defense minister sees him as standing in the way of a deal with Hamas that would lead to the release of hostages. Here's excerpts from a New York Times story, "Biden Says Netanyahu is Not Doing Enough to Free Hostages in Gaza."
President Biden issued a one-word rebuke on Monday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to reaching a cease-fire and hostage release deal, the latest iteration of the White House’s monthslong effort to cajole and censure the Israeli leader.
As he exited Marine One on the White House lawn on the way to a meeting of his national security team, Mr. Biden was asked a series of questions by waiting reporters about whether Mr. Netanyahu was doing enough to achieve a deal to get the hostages back. The president responded simply: “No.”
...Hamas has demanded that all Israeli forces be withdrawn from the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land, less than 9 miles long, on the border between Gaza and Egypt. Mr. Netanyahu has said Israeli troops must remain in the corridor to prevent the movement of weapons and ammunition to Hamas.
The draft agreement calls for a major reduction in Israeli forces in the corridor during the first phase of the cease-fire, and full withdrawal thereafter. Israeli government negotiators have agreed to the phased withdrawal, but Mr. Netanyahu has backed away from that part of the deal, triggering an open dispute with his own defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
“It is too late for the hostages who were murdered in cold blood,” Mr. Gallant said on Sunday, declaring that Mr. Netanyahu had to drop his insistence on the presence of troops in the corridor. “We must bring back the hostages that are still being held by Hamas.”
Hopefully that will happen. But it's hard to see how the lives of the hostages can be saved as long as Netanyahu is Prime Minister of Israel. Netanyahu wants endless war with Hamas because he believes that as soon as the war stops, his legal problems will start again.
Israelis will have to make a choice between keeping the hostages alive and keeping Netanyahu's political ambitions alive. I sure hope they choose the hostages.
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