The Israeli government faced growing dissatisfaction among military officials on Tuesday as Israeli troops battled Hamas militants in northern and southern Gaza.
Current and former senior military officers are beginning to argue more publicly that Israeli forces are being forced to fight again for the areas in the eighth month of the war because of the government’s failure to roll out a post-Gaza plan in the northern part of the territory where Hamas fighters have returned. . With this cycle showing no clear end in sight and ceasefire talks apparently stalled, the risks to soldiers are growing.
Two Israeli officials said some generals and members of the war cabinet are frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to develop and announce an alternative to Hamas to govern Gaza. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid professional repercussions.
They said Mr Netanyahu’s unwillingness to engage in serious talks about “the day after tomorrow” made it easier for Hamas to reestablish itself in places such as Jabaliya in northern Gaza, which Israel first attacked in October Asia, and launched new airstrikes and attacks there. Ground attack this week.
Eran Lerman, Israel’s deputy national security adviser from 2006 to 2015, said Israel faced strong opposition from much of the world over the war and the rising death toll among Palestinians in Gaza was partly due to “Israel’s lack of A consistent vision.” One day later. “
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls to end the fighting, arguing that there cannot be a civilian government in Gaza until Hamas is destroyed.Monday, on a Podcast InterviewHe said the territory first needs “the continued demilitarization of Israel” because “no one is going to come in unless they know you have either destroyed Hamas or are about to destroy Hamas.”
But as more analysts and officials Questions Israel’s ability to achieve such broad goalsThe stronger criticism from some in the military reflects growing differences with Netanyahu’s government.
While Israeli strategists have said they expect troops to return to parts of Gaza later in the war, the two Israeli officials said starting a new administration in Gaza would make Hamas’s situation more difficult and potentially less severe. Hamas’ burden. A burden on the Israeli army.
Michael Koplow, an analyst at the Israel Policy Forum, said military leaders “are frustrated by the military mandates they are given, but end up repeating themselves like Groundhog Day because larger strategic and political issues have not been addressed by the administration.” answer”.
For Mr Netanyahu, political considerations include trying to unite the government with right-wing parties that have called for a full-scale offensive on Gaza despite U.S. opposition and are unwilling to support Arab demands as part of their offer of help. Prerequisites Gaza: The Road to the State of Palestine.
They have threatened to overthrow the government if Mr Netanyahu strays too far from their demands, potentially exposing Mr Netanyahu to a series of corruption charges and losing the power he holds as prime minister.
Dr. Lerman, former deputy national security adviser Recently published Other scholars at the Wilson Center have proposed a plan to create a multinational agency led by the United States, Egypt and others to manage and police Gaza. This information has been shared with Israeli authorities.
Other proposals include efforts to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, which currently governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but the Israeli government also rejected the ideabelieving that the authorities are not a capable and credible partner.
Former Israeli officials warned of a lack of postwar planning even before the ground assault on Gaza began. Israeli officials said the devastating Hamas-led attack killed 1,200 people and triggered an Israeli military offensive. On October 14, a week later, former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called on the government to consider Gaza’s post-war future.
“Otherwise,” she said, “we will be unnecessarily trapped and pay a heavy price.”
In an interview Tuesday, she said that’s exactly what happened.
“Imagine if we had decided on this before and started working with the United States, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia earlier,” she said, referring to the United Arab Emirates. “It’ll be much easier this way.”
Jonathan Rice and Gabby Sobelman Contributed reporting.
