Netanyahu was protecting Hamas – WaPo — RT World News

Benjamin Netanyahu had it “strange coexistence” With the Palestinian Hamas movement that ruled Gaza for decades, he was the Prime Minister of Israel, The Washington Post (WAPO) mentioned on Sunday, citing a group of experts on Israel affairs. The politician reportedly found Hamas useful for obstructing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and disrupting the establishment of a Palestinian state, the newspaper claimed.

Netanyahu, who headed the Israeli government without interruption between 2009 and 2020 and then returned to power in December 2022, repeatedly vowed to destroy Hamas throughout his term, but instead pursued policies that helped the group maintain its grip on the Strip, US media reported. American media reported. .

She added that the Prime Minister’s government approved financial transfers from Qatar used to pay public salaries in Gaza, improve local infrastructure, and supposedly even to fund Hamas operations, adding that under Netanyahu, Israel also agreed to periodic prisoner releases, which were allegedly Hamas also benefited from it. group.

He added: “In the past ten years, Netanyahu has worked to prevent any attempt to eliminate Hamas in Gaza.” Israeli historian Adam Raz, who has studied the relations between the prime minister and the armed group, told WaPo, describing it as “extremist.” “strange alliance” This could have ended with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, and the subsequent Israeli military operation in Gaza.

The goal of Netanyahu’s policy was to divide the Palestinians, leaving Hamas to rule Gaza and allowing its rivals from the Palestinian Authority to control the West Bank. Wabo claimed that the conflict between the two groups made reaching a negotiated two-state solution impossible, adding that it also allowed the prime minister to completely ignore the Palestinian issue.

“With no unified leadership, [Netanyahu] “He was able to say that he could not move forward with peace negotiations.” Dalia Sheindlin, an Israeli pollster and political analyst, said: “It allowed him to say, ‘There’s no one to talk to.’ Instead, he focused on the confrontation between Israel and Iran and economic development, the newspaper added, citing Netanyahu biographer Anshel Feffer.

“Netanyahu has always felt that the Palestinian conflict was a distraction being used as a wedge issue in Israel.” Pfeiffer told the newspaper. According to the newspaper, the Prime Minister in particular sought to prevent any reconciliation between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority amid an apparent rapprochement in 2018. However, he did not provide any details about this issue.

The Prime Minister’s Office refused to make any comments to the American newspaper, but an Israeli official told it, on condition of anonymity, that Netanyahu “He hit Hamas harder than any prime minister in history.” Although the Prime Minister had not destroyed the group earlier, it was his own thing “War Cabinet” The official added that this was the case after October 7.

Israel launched three large-scale military operations in Gaza under Netanyahu’s leadership, in 2012, 2014, and 2021. They all eventually ended in a negotiated ceasefire, leaving the movement in control of the Strip.