جسر نتنياهو على أجساد الأسرى

With a green light from President Donald Trump following the failure to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu launched his plan to completely occupy the Gaza Strip, after the "Cabinet" (the Israeli government's security and political mini-cabinet) adopted the decision for occupation.

This decision comes in light of the Israeli government's failure to recover the fifty hostages who are still in the custody of Hamas, and of course, its failure to eliminate Hamas despite the significant disparity in military and intelligence power, which has contributed to increasing doubts both domestically in Israel and internationally about the government's ability and "will" to achieve a military resolution or its seriousness in recovering the hostages.

This is evident through several factors, the first of which is the massive protests that erupted in Israel to stop the war and achieve an agreement with Hamas to return the hostages, especially the symbolic nature of some of these protests directed towards the American embassy. This feeling that President Trump is the only one capable of curbing Netanyahu's carefully calculated adventures, based on his political success scale and navigating through the landmines of judicial challenges and coalition collapse, led to an open letter from former Israeli officials to President Trump.

The letter was signed by about 500 former political, military, and security officials, and among its most notable points was: "Our professional opinion is that (Hamas) no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel." Coinciding with this, another letter was signed by a number of Israeli artists, highlighting the discontent of the Israeli elite with the results of Netanyahu's adventures, which have tarnished Israel's reputation worldwide.

Looking at opinion polls in Israel, it is clear according to Channel 12 that 55% of participants believe that Netanyahu's main goal is to remain in power, compared to 36% who see his goal as recovering the hostages. Meanwhile, a survey by the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University showed that 76% have little or no confidence in the government, with only 30% trusting Netanyahu.

This advance towards the Gaza battle comes first from burning bridges internally, as evident from the polling numbers, and with a deep awareness of the accountability that will arise from the investigation into the events of October 7, 2023, in addition to other legal pursuits and opposition scrutiny. Naturally, American support comes as a lever through which the battle can be prepared within two months as a deadline for the army, then fought while maintaining control in Gaza for another two years, giving him the opportunity to exploit the fires of war in the upcoming elections in October 2026.

Netanyahu's burning of bridges also comes at the expense of reserve forces, as a security institute survey indicates that 90% of Jews oppose punishing a soldier who refuses to participate in another round due to psychological exhaustion. Additionally, Israeli media reports indicate an increasing number of reserve forces who are retracting their attendance, according to Haaretz newspaper.

However, the grand prize that Netanyahu aspires to, which could absolve him of all his sins before the Israeli public, would be the success in achieving the complete displacement from the Gaza Strip. For him, the rest is just details, whether it be the major internal objections as we mentioned, or even the pressures from close allies, the latest being Germany, which has banned the export of questions following the announcement of the Gaza occupation.

The challenge will remain with the potential losses from the occupation of Gaza between politicians and military leaders, as the late American General William Westmoreland noted: "The army does not start battles, but politicians do."