The War Divides

Biden fumbles, Nethanyahu stumbles in a conflict that has gone on for far too long

Ashdod where I stayed last week is some 50 kilometres from Gaza and yesterday you could hear the sonic booms of fighter jets flying over followed by what I would describe as ‘muffled bangs’. This is the ongoing attack on various Hamas positions in Gaza and they continued unabated throughout the day and well into the evening. It is hard to describe the exact feeling when you experience it and maybe you don’t even really do, you register it and carry on. That’s what the people do here as well, it was Saturday, the beach was full and everyone focused on his or her thing. But it does find a place in your mind and it does not leave you. There’s a sliver of darkness that enters your consciousness and you can’t shake it off.

We are into this now for seven months and not only is the end not in sight, it is unclear what the endgame exactly will be.

The War Accelerates

So Israel picked up the fighting after its generous offer for a ceasefire and hostage swap turned into a pointless negotiation grind earlier this week with Hamas seeking to rework every aspect of the deal. It is my understanding that Israel really sharpened the pencil, but it was for nothing pretty much. By ramping up the attacks in a number of areas of Gaza, Israel is now adding pressure on Hamas while also signalling progress to the domestic front as Israeli confidence levels are at their lowest point since this war has started.

Biden’s Move

Across the ocean the Biden administration, equally fearful of a domestic backlash, threatened to pause weapon deliveries to Israel as a means to try and de-escalate the hostilities and its civilian casualties. But the move runs counter to what America also wants, which is the destruction of Hamas. The pro-Israel camp is outraged over this move, but it should also be noted that on the left flank in Biden’s party this also is evaluated negatively: for them it is not going far enough in restraining Israel. So the president got flak from all sides while Hamas again could chalk up a ‘win’ as support behind Israel no longer seems ironclad, to use Biden’s own term. But these arms will of course be delivered. All of this is a political side show that in the end benefits no one, least of all Biden who is perceived to no longer have a cohesive and robust strategy on this war.

Worse, yesterday word got out that the US wanted to share intelligence about Hamas whereabouts in Gaza in return for Israel holding back its firepower. So the question then becomes - all over social media yesterday evening- why did the US not share this info with Israel right away? What is really going on here?

Bitter Israel

The war has indeed gone on for far too long, for all parties. In Israel the public has been taking to the street to protest the government’s war strategy, its ineptitude during the hostage negotiations and to demand that Nethanyahu resigns. Like now. The bitterness and anger are contributing to protests that turn more and more violent, one Israeli last week told me that he considers the police to be a bunch of Nazis as they are getting instructions to engage with the protestors from hardline security minister Ben-Gvir.

The hostages have now become the wedge issue that is splitting the nation in a ‘pro-Nethanyahu camp’ and a ‘pro-war but without Nethanyahu camp’. While I referred to the unity in the country last week, the signs increasingly are that there is no longer majority support for the war as it has been conducted so far. There’s no win, there’s still Hamas and there are no hostages coming back.

Failed Strategy

Harsh criticism is now also levelled at the strategy for the Gaza incursion where Israel attacked and moved down from the north to the south (Rafah) but where, critics argue a reverse approach by starting in Rafah, or an attack from two sides would have made so much more sense. I had the pleasure of talking to some sources here who pointed out that the IDF may actually not have had the resources to carry out such a plan. At the same time the lack of a strategy for Gaza after the war is what has frayed international support and is the key issues that has divided Biden and Nethanyahu.

No Festivities

Tomorrow is Yom HaZikaron (the day all fallen soldiers and terror victims are remembered) and the day after that is Yom Ha’atzmaut (which is independence day) and in the case of the latter many celebrations are being scaled down and some events even cancelled. The stores are full of blue-and-white gear, but there is no real appetite to celebrate and the actual remembrance which starts tonight will be an extremely emotional and dark one.

And …

Finally, yes, Israel did well on the Eurovision Song Festival in Sweden where its representative Eden Golan place fifth out of twenty-five contestants. This is big only in Europe, but this edition was global news because of the endless harassment of the Israeli delegation.

Golan delivered an inspired performance with her song ‘Hurricane’ and arrived today here at the airport in tears. What she had to endure during the last week is hard to describe: hauled up in her hotel room with maximum security, booed by a large part of the audience, bullied her fellow artists, accused by a member of the press for endangering the other attendees, even being taunted by last year’s winner. And outside the festival venue were massive protests with among others Greta Thunberg who got herself arrested. It was a sickening display of Jew-hate in the heart of Europe, all for a girl who came only to sing her song. But she was unfazed and stuck it to all the haters.

Photo: the closest I was able to get to Gaza last week. It is surreal to see the city from a relatively short distance, bathing quietly in the sun. The sign reads ‘warning’ indicating you should not go beyond this point. If circumstances permit I will be visiting the area again this coming week.

Note: I have arrived in Jerusalem today. Here is a photo from my AirBnB looking out southwards, you can see Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, slightly left of centre right above the trees.