Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is right. Israeli, US, and other sources involved in the hostage talks confirm that the security cabinet decided last week on a more limited plan, to take over Gaza City and not the entire Gaza Strip, to relay readiness on the part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas as soon as possible.
Smotrich criticized Netanyahu and said he had lost faith in the prime minister regarding an all-out victory over Hamas. On the heels of the security cabinet’s announcement early Friday morning, the mediators in the hostage talks – generally a reference to Qatar, Egypt, and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – renewed and stepped up pressure on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal on releasing the hostages and ending the Gaza war.
At the same time, the Trump administration called on the international community to ramp up the pressure on Hamas. The US call is an example of déjà vu. If you think this sounds familiar, you are correct. For my part, I feel redundant reporting it again.
In the immediate aftermath of October 7, 2023, the Biden administration called on European and other allies to join forces to free the hostages, expel Hamas from the Gaza Strip, and build a better future for Palestinians living in Gaza.
US and European sources confirmed that no such cooperation was agreed upon. Biden’s people charged that European countries were not willing to cooperate. European sources countered that the US administration did not have a serious plan. The White House voiced anger, saying that the point was to work together on formulating a plan.
Europe afraid to get involved
What ensued was that various European leaders, some of whom privately voiced support for Israel, were afraid to get too overtly involved in helping the cause and instead distanced themselves from Israel. Their fears, according to European sources, were over the vocal and influential pro-Palestinian protests among their own populations.
Tragically, those European fears of angering Islamic extremists and other protesters who had fallen in line with the anti-Israel narrative have resulted, in fact, in more death and destruction for Gazan Palestinians. It has allowed for the death of the very people that these US-allied leaders said they were trying to protect.
The accusation of harming Gazan Palestinians can also be made against supposedly pro-Palestinian protesters, personalities, and politicians in the United States, Australia, and several other countries. Some leaders have instead accused Israel of genocide while also supporting the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Mind you, there are those in Israel who will tell you that had the Biden administration succeeded in recruiting its allies in October 2023 and ending the war back then, we would not have later witnessed the severe blow to Hezbollah, regime change in Syria, and the debilitating attack on Iran.
US-Israel cooperation
Twenty-two months into this war, Netanyahu continues to work alongside US President Donald Trump. Though they were reportedly involved in a shouting match in a recent phone conversation and their interests don’t always converge, the relationship is cooperative. The prime minister is now telling Trump: “I’m giving this a chance,” as quoted to me, referring to a willingness to reach a deal now.
Dear world, don’t exploit the negative attitudes toward Netanyahu, also within Israel, and statements made by the likes of Smotrich and others in the current Israeli government. You should be concentrating on making Hamas, not Israel, a pariah. You should insist on the immediate release of the hostages and the expulsion of Hamas from the Gaza Strip.
Common denominator
The common denominator would be that if you could pull off both objectives, the hostages – those still alive – would be free and no longer starving, and the same would be true of Palestinians because Hamas wouldn’t be stealing their food anymore.
Israeli governments have not always had the best relationships with the international community over the decades. Can you prove to Israel that you are willing to work with it to ensure its own interests? Frankly, these are also your interests: fighting Islamic extremism.
Now is the moment to seize the opportunity. Now is your second chance.
Enough of the anti-Israel rhetoric. We Israelis will work on our internal issues. May peace-lovers around the world work together to stop the intimidation imposed by terrorists and make this world a better place.
The writer is op-ed editor of The Jerusalem Post.