Tuesday 6 February 2024

Can anyone tell Binyamin Netanyahu what to do?

It's very nearly four months since the horrific October 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas and therefore nearly four months since Israel's retaliatory invasion and bombardment of Gaza. In that time has anyone been able to persuade Binyamin Netanyahu that the annihilation of Hamas by killing every member of the organisation is actually not the answer to everlasting peace in the Middle East? Killing never brings peace. Annihilation certainly will never bring peace. But Netanyahu has fixed his mind on one objective, the destruction of Hamas, and it seems no one is able to divert his attention away from this fixation. Certainly poor Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, hasn't mamaged to make the Israeli prime minister even blink. All his arguments about thinking of the future and how Palestine should have its own state once the war is over have fallen on stony ground. The trouble is, the Americans are not being pushy and they are not giving Netanyahu an ultimatum - start planning for the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living alongside each other, or the US will stop sending you weapons and ammunition. That would be a pretty risky ultimatum because it would encourage Hamas, but how else is Netanyahu going to be persuaded to think about the future of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Blinken, as far as one knows withot being present, always talks in soft tones and never raises his voice. Perhaps it's time for him or someone else to look the Israeli prime minister in the eye and tell him in no uncertain terms that he is in danger of damaging the most important relationship Israel has. But I fear this is not going to happen. Blinken will plug away with his softly-softly diplomacy and Netanyahu will gnore him, politely.

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