Israel’s darkest hour could last years — RT World News

Since Israel’s founding in 1948, Tel Aviv has not suffered an attack on its territory as audacious as the one carried out by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, which was more traumatic than the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
The fact that Hamas planned such a massive attack by land, sea and air and managed to avoid detection points is a major intelligence failure by Israel.

It seems that Hamas has better knowledge of what is happening inside the country than the famous Israeli intelligence agency Mossad knows of what is happening in Gaza. prime minister of israel, “Mr. Protection” Benjamin Netanyahu has certainly suffered a blow from which he may not be able to recover in the long term.

When Netanyahu came to power for the third time last December with the support of the country’s right-wing parties, current and retired Israeli army generals expressed fears that such an alliance might lead to civil war in the country. This has not happened yet, but the division and months of protests against Netanyahu’s policies have certainly encouraged Hamas to carry out its lightning strikes.

The mere fact that Israel had to formally declare war was a morale boost for Hamas, which has been at war with the Jewish state since its inception when the first Palestinian intifada began in Gaza in December 1987. The world may as well have been shocked by the unspeakable cruelty of the attack. Hamas launched it in October, but the Palestinian group is likely proud of its accomplishment.

The fact that thousands of Palestinian civilians have lost their lives in the conflict probably does not worry Hamas much. They are likely to be declared martyrs – and when you are willing to die for your cause, you are automatically greater than your enemy. So far, Palestinian authorities say they have done so Missing count Of the dead, but it exceeds 11,000, and it is believed that more than half of them are women and children.

Ephraim Halevy, whose career as Mossad’s ninth director spanned from 1998 to 2002, urged caution as Israel destroys Hamas. He warned that while Israel enters a severe state of emergency, reservists have the right to refuse service in protest against the judicial reforms planned by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Halevy, who was a confidant of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and played a key role in the October 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, has always been in favor of negotiating with Hamas. He has consistently emphasized that Hamas cannot be destroyed or eliminated. Halevy, the nephew of twentieth-century philosopher Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997), refused to accept Netanyahu as the country’s leader. Israeli security leaders also realize that destroying Hamas is beyond their capabilities. As Israeli journalist and writer Gideon Levy said, violence will never end Israel’s problems.

Little is known about the inner workings of Hamas, which remains top secret. But it is known that its goals are to take revenge on and punish Israel, as well as to release Palestinians in Israeli prisons. However, one of the main goals of the Hamas attack in October was to nullify the Abraham Accords, the diplomatic normalization roadmaps signed between Israel and the Arab world in 2020 with US mediation.

Palestine remains a major sensitive issue in the Arab world. Even before the October 7 attacks and ongoing reprisals, hostilities were increasing between Israel and the West Bank, especially at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, where Palestinians are regularly attacked and abused by Israeli security. Troops. Issues such as the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Sherine Abu Okla at the hands of Israeli forces have continued widespread discontent.

The Arab countries immediately united in the wake of the indiscriminate Israeli bombing of Gaza. Even Queen Rania of Jordan accused the West of committing war crimes. The conflict also brought together Muslims elsewhere in the world. Hamas is proud to represent the Palestinian cause and considers itself a growing force in the Arab world.

During his quick trip to Israel shortly after the war began, US President Joe Biden implored the Israelis not to surrender. “consumer” Because of anger in response to the Hamas attack. Even if this does not translate into any attempt to curb Israel’s actions, the American president knows what he is talking about. After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Washington launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which turned out to be blunders. More than 30,000 American soldiers have committed suicide after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is more than three times the number killed in battle.

The social devastation caused by the wars the United States fought after 9/11 led to the rise of President Donald Trump in 2016. A prolonged conflict in the Middle East may help him return to power in next year’s US presidential election.

The current war between Israel and Hamas bears all the elements of a long-term conflict – or a new, long-term phase of a conflict that has been simmering and burning for decades. In the past few weeks, Israel claimed responsibility for the killing of three Hamas leaders. In Afghanistan, too, the West continued to claim that it had killed the Taliban leaders, but new faces continued to appear. The United States went to Afghanistan in 2001 with the goal of overthrowing the Taliban, but when it left twenty years later, the Taliban had seized power, more powerful than ever. Hamas may also become more powerful twenty years from now.

Political issues cannot be swept under the rug, and must be dealt with politically. Governments around the world declare that they will never negotiate with evil. However, they always have and always will have, most of all, Israel. No conflict is unstable, no matter how bloody, old, or difficult.

Recently, Israel and Hamas reached a hostage release agreement, under which 50 people kidnapped during the October 7 attack will be released during a four-day humanitarian truce.

The key to this deal was the mediation carried out by Qatar, an ally of the United States and, in a sense, the guardian of the conscience of the Arab world. In the past, Doha reached an agreement with the Taliban and helped US forces exit Afghanistan before the Taliban arrived. More recently, Qatar played an active role in the prisoner exchange between the United States and Iran.

After a four-day pause, the Israeli army pledged to continue its attacks on Gaza, but if a long-term peace agreement is to be reached, Qatar is likely to play a vital role in it.

The United States has always supported Israel, but has little respect for Prime Minister Netanyahu. Biden is disappointed that Netanyahu backed away from the 1993 Oslo Accords and backed away from the two-state formula to resolve the Palestinian issue. Today, the Oslo Accords are long dead and perhaps no longer relevant.

The great Palestinian thinker Edward Said (1935-2003) always saw the fate of the Jewish and non-Jewish populations in Palestine as inextricably linked. We need to listen to Said today.