Netanyahu is now gambling with more than just hostages’ lives

 

If the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, possessed anything like the qualities of statesmanship demanded at a moment such as this, he would by now have seized the offer of a peace deal from Hamas, agreed a ceasefire, begun the long and difficult process of winding down the pitiless war in Gaza and, of enormous immediate benefit, secured the return of about half the remaining 20 hostages thought to still be alive, as well as the bodies of others.

The worst sufferings of the families affected would be that much closer to a conclusion – and the much wider pain and hardship, including hunger, being endured by innocent Palestinian civilians would also be relieved.

The ceasefire deal is by no means a perfect offer, and – it bears repeating – there was never any reason for the Hamas militants to take any hostages or commit any of the atrocities that occurred on 7 October 2023. According to Qatari sources who’ve been involved in brokering the talks, the deal suggested by Hamas and now put forward to the Israeli government is “almost identical” to an American proposal that the Israelis had previously accepted.

And yet Mr Netanyahu seems intent on finding excuses and distractions to avoid making peace. He has not yet explicitly rejected the deal – but asked by Australian television if Israel planned to take over all of Gaza and eliminate Hamas even if the group agreed to a truce and hostage deal, he was clear: “We’re going to do that anyway. That there was never a question that we’re not going to leave Hamas there.”

Simultaneously, he now wants to restart negotiations with Hamas aimed at returning all of Israel's remaining hostages – but it is clear he wants to end the war on Israel’s terms.

The prime minister’s spokesperson says, despite precedents, that the Israeli government is not interested in “partial deals”. It wants all the hostages back, and is prepared to pursue the military option, despite past failures and with no guarantee that the hostages will come out of renewed fighting alive.

No one should be surprised that, unlike some of his more far-sighted predecessors, Mr Netanyahu isn’t prepared to take a risk for peace, but rather views with equanimity the prospect of none of the hostages making it out alive after almost two years of ruthless warfare. He is prepared to gamble with their lives.

As if to make sure that there’s no prospect of even this minimal peace agreement becoming reality, Mr Netanyahu has ordered yet another military offensive, in the already devastated Gaza City, and has called up 60,000 new reservists and extended the tour of duty of 20,000 others to undertake the currently expanded operation.

No less grievously, the government, driven by its most extreme elements, is determined to expel more Palestinians from the homes and lands on the occupied West Bank. One aim is to annex territory to the state of Israel and isolate Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, part of a wider scheme to render the creation of a viable independent sovereign Palestinian state impossible. It is a scheme that has been long in the offing, but until now has not been pursued with the explicit backing of the state.

Now, Israel is going beyond its shameful actions in the illegal settlements and is turning this lawlessness into official policy. The Palestinian Authority pleads that it will destroy the possibility of a two-state solution. That outcome, of course, is entirely to the liking of Mr Netanyahu and his allies. Like the continuation of the war in the face of any and every offer of peace, it is a cynical exercise in continuing Mr Netanyahu’s time in office, staving off the days when he will have to face the Israeli electorate and resume his trial on corruption charges.

More than ever, indeed, Mr Netanyahu is emboldened to pursue his personal interests before peace. International pressure isn’t working. He is already indicted at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, and countries previously friendly to Israel and who defend its right to exist and defend itself are ostracised by the way its leaders have conducted the war in Gaza. Hence the momentum that has built in Britain, France, Australia and elsewhere to formally recognise the state of Palestine.

Its Arab neighbours cannot make peace with a nation that behaves in the way Israel has. The fact is that, despite the destruction, probably temporary, of Iran’s nuclear programme, and the rout of Hamas, Israel is now realistically less secure than before this disproportionate war was launched and Mr Netanyahu decided to lash out – much as Hamas desired. The UN is treated with contempt, its aid agencies driven out of Gaza, and substituted with a US-Israel-backed body whose guards allegedly use children for target practice.

Depressingly, there is only one power in the world that can restrain Israel and steer it back to obeying international law, honouring humanitarian norms, and securing its long-term stability – and that is, of course, the United States.

To the extent that what Israel has done has happened because of the consent of Joe Biden and then, even more enthusiastically granting a free hand, Donald Trump, the disaster engulfing the entire region is almost as much the fault of America as Israel. None of that, though, and no military action or drive for illegal settlements on Palestinian territory can dispel the central abiding truth: there can be no peace without a two-state solution.