The problems that have accumulated for decades in the Middle East, a region of relative stability, are in practice not solved all at once. Perhaps for this reason, conflicts in the region, which has a certain autonomy in interacting with the global system of international relations, can be seen as a reflection of larger international problems.
The demands of the global imperialist powers for the establishment of a regional security system in the Middle East and North Africa are related to the sustainability of their own interests. Therefore, today’s global trend is towards the development of regional integration.
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The situation on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula appears to have deteriorated sharply with the start of Israel’s military operation against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing for more than three months.
After decades of intermittent negotiations and failed peace initiatives, the time has come for a shift in US policy towards achieving Israeli-Palestinian peace. This shift means resetting the narrow US policy on Palestine.
With the unconditional support of US imperialism and its European imperialist allies, the danger of Israel’s genocide in Gaza escalating into a region-wide war is growing every day.
For its part, the Israeli government, with the support of its main ally in Washington, is inclined to force Hamas to surrender much earlier in order to escape the relentless ticking of the political clock that will soon end with the war it has launched.
The urban war in Gaza has been devastating, with thousands of Palestinians, including civilians, killed. In just over three months, some 24,000 Palestinians were killed, about one in every 100 people living in Gaza.
This includes a staggering 9,600 children. More than 60,000 people (three out of every 100) were injured.
Although Washington and Jerusalem currently disagree on the strategic question, both are under the mistaken impression that Israel’s victory over Hamas is a precondition for any effort to resolve these differences. This is what we call a poor man’s consolation.
Netanyahu and Gallant clash!
As the Gaza war continues, the conflict between Israel’s political and military leadership is growing every day. Almost every day there are reports in the Israeli media about “incitement” by ministers against army commanders.
One of the possible outcomes of the war is who will govern the Gaza Strip, and this is one of the main points of contention between Netanyahu and Gallant. Netanyahu has stated many times before that he is “opposed to a post-war Palestinian Authority in Gaza”.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, 65, a retired Israeli Navy officer, disagrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu. In fact, the Israeli army wants an immediate end to the Gaza war, which has turned into a major defeat and has resulted in the loss of soldiers.
The Israeli cabinet is not in agreement on Gaza governance, with each party in the coalition playing a different tune. Gallant, who announced that Palestinians would govern the Gaza Strip after the end of the Israeli attacks, said, “The next government in Gaza must grow from the Gaza Strip. Gaza will be governed by Palestinians. The end of the military operation must be tied to a political action.”
As Israel’s offensive on Gaza enters its 100th day, the divisions within the Tel Aviv administration’s War Cabinet have resurfaced with disagreements over a possible prisoner swap deal to secure the return of Israeli prisoners.
At the January 13 meeting of the War Cabinet, cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot advocated an agreement with Hamas to release Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, while Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant objected, saying that only military pressure would bring about a new agreement.
Gantz, leader of the National Unity Party and member of the War Cabinet, and Eisenkot, a member of the party’s cabinet, believe that new ideas should be considered that could lead to an immediate agreement with Hamas for the return of prisoners.
Netanyahu and Gallant, on the other hand, oppose Gantz and Eisenkot, saying that halting the attacks before Hamas ends its control of the Gaza Strip would harm Israel’s security interests.
At the meeting where the new 2024 budget of the Israeli government, including the costs of the war in the Gaza Strip, was discussed, it was noteworthy that some ministers left the session due to the uncompromising stance of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Of course, this is not the only point of disagreement.
Bureaucrat participation fight in the Israeli cabinet!…
-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, flanked by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, conducting a security assessment in Tel Aviv.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant left the security cabinet meeting last Saturday night after a dispute broke out over the attendance of aides. The cabinet meeting was closed to aides and Gallant’s personal staff was denied entry. However, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other officials were allowed to bring their aides.
The straw that broke the camel’s back, however, was when Gallant’s military secretary was not allowed to enter the meeting. Gallant was furious and an argument broke out. When Tzachi Hanegbi, the head of the National Security Council and the son of a Mizrahi Jewish (Yemenite-Jewish, Moroccan-Jewish and Turkish-Jewish) and Ashkenazi Jewish (Polish-Jewish) family, said, “Even I didn’t keep my aides here,” Gallant responded, “You forgot that you had aides yourself.”
This opposition to Gallant and the almost ‘mobbing’ practices limiting his mobility are not new. Previously, Israeli media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu prevented Israeli Defense Minister Yaov Gallant from discussing the issue of Israeli hostages in Gaza with David Barnea, the head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad.
Undoubtedly, the exclusion of the Defense Minister’s military advisor from the cabinet meeting was a direct continuation of previous similar actions against Gallant, including the blocking of the heads of Shin Bet and Mossad from meeting with Gallant.
Sources close to Netanyahu said it was a matter of “fair politics”. The tense situation in the cabinet emerged as tensions between Netanyahu and Gallant continued to grow during the war.
Gallant and Netanyahu had already clashed in March when the defense minister warned of the impact of judicial reform on Israeli society and Netanyahu responded by announcing that he would fire Gallant. After mass protests erupted against the decision, Netanyahu froze the decision and was forced to back down from dismissing the minister.
Likud MP Tally Gotliv said on Saturday night, regarding the reported disagreement in the security cabinet: “How can you trust a limited cabinet that behaves like children in kindergarten? Are we supposed to rely on the presence of Tzachi Hanegbi rather than the defense minister? Is there no responsible adult to call the people to order? My God, you are leading a war. Can’t the Minister of Defense come in with his right-hand assistant? You are all little children, no less so in wartime.”
Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant do not speak to each other. It seems that the two sides use cabinet meetings as “an embarrassing space for showdowns, fights and arguments that lead nowhere.”
If the Palestinians were out of the way, believe me, they would eat each other like raw chicken.
Today, the miscalculation is coming back from Gaza!…
Judging by the expectations of American and Israeli analysts, Hamas will probably be defeated on the battlefield and will not even have the opportunity to consider the option of laying down its weapons…
But the reality is different.
Let alone the Israeli army, even their legendary secret service Mossad has failed. You can’t hold it in your hands. In the psychosis of defeat, all units are waiting for the politicians to end the war.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced the official end of heavy combat operations in the northern Gaza Strip. The army’s largest regular service armored division left the Gaza Strip for rest and training. Soldiers from the 36th Armored Division, including the Golani Infantry Brigade and the 7th and 188th armored brigades, completed their mission in Gaza on Monday in a ceremony near the border that included a flyover by Israeli Air Force helicopters.
Israel’s real fear…
Indeed, Hamas’ rejectionist ideology is likely to gain traction among the Palestinians and throughout the Middle East, with the ceasefire leaving a battered but still active Hamas in control of key areas of Gaza and thus able to claim victory.
That is why the Israeli leadership wants to at least give concrete substance to the idea of Hamas surrender. They calculate that this would deepen the rift between Hamas and ordinary Palestinians in Gaza. If they succeed, they believe, it will isolate Hamas and hasten the end of this tragic conflict. It’s like this; the bear has 40 stories, 40 of them are about a pear.
With global and regional actors seeking normalization agreements and new economic opportunities, the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been lost in the shuffle. Israel is incapable of showing the ability and will to get out of the hole it has fallen into.
At every opportunity, the US makes the Netanyahu government aware of its discomfort with prolonging the war for its own global interests. Israel’s supporters are dwindling every day. If the international community wants this war to end not with a temporary ceasefire, but with a lasting peace, it must take immediate action. Netanyahu is leaving, but how?
Selected Bibliography
https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-782085
https://ria.ru/20240116/blizhniy_vostok-1921502033.html
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/ending-the-war
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2023/12/the-trouble-with-a-cease-fire.html
https://www.newsisrael.net/2024/01/16/עזה-ממשיכה-להיות-זרועת-טילים-רקטות-ומש/https://carnegieendowment.org/2021/04/19/breaking-israel-palestine-status-quo-pub-84167
https://www.chathamhouse.org/regions/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-palestine?trending=
Gallant: Intense combat ends in northern Gaza, south to follow ‘soon’
https://www.themarker.com/news/politics/2023-01-08/ty-article/.premium/00000185-9129-d10b-afc7-9139c94f0000
https://turkish.aawsat.com/arap-dünyasi/4791956-israil-başbakanı-netanyahu-ile-savunma-bakanı-gallant’ın-birbirleriyle
https://turkish.aawsat.com/dünya/4790856-i̇srail-savaş-kabinesinde-bölünme-gazzedeki-i̇srailli-esirler-üzerinden-tekrar-gün
https://www.ntv.com.tr/dunya/gazzeyi-kim-yonetecek-netanyahu-ile-galant-fikir-ayriligina-dustu,p5lY6f4Y4U2ccRCN2s6RQw
https://www.trthaber.com/haber/dunya/israil-basini-netanyahunun-savunma-bakani-ile-mossad-sefinin-rehine-gorusmesini-engelledigini-yazdi-823735.html
https://www.breakingnews.com.tr/gundem/israil-basbakani-netanyahu-ile-savunma-bakani-gallant-in-birbirleriyle-konusmadiklari-belirtildi-772599
