This week in CricketInFocus News Network’s special program Shaurya Path, we wanted to know from Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) that the Israel-Hamas conflict is intensifying. What future do you see for the conflict that has been going on for 11 months? In response to this, he said that protests are increasing in Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to strengthen his hold on power and now it seems like an attempt to save his political future regardless of the loss. He said that thousands of Israelis tired and angry with the war are taking to the streets week after week and demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to compromise and bring back the hostages (survivors) who were taken hostage after the Hamas attack on October 7. But there has been no response to their demands. He said that these massive public demonstrations also include the largest nationwide strike in 18 months. He said that new conditions have emerged for any agreement with Hamas and commitments to continue the war even in the second year. He said that despite more than 750,000 protesters demanding his resignation and an end to the war, Netanyahu’s only plan for the future appears to be to remain in power and continue the fight against Hamas.
Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that the protests began after six more Israeli hostages were found dead in Gaza in early September. He said that the main demand of the protesters is that Netanyahu signs a ceasefire with Hamas that will lead to the release of the remaining Israeli civilians held captive since the 7 October 2023 attacks. He said that despite growing public discontent, Netanyahu has refused to sign any ceasefire agreement and continues to add new conditions to any potential agreement. He said that the latest dispute is over Israel’s insistence on maintaining its permanent military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor. He said that the Philadelphi Corridor is a strip of land located on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
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Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that Hamas refuses to accept any such conditions and demands that all Israeli troops should vacate the Gaza Strip. He said that Egypt has also expressed concern over the possibility of deployment of Israeli troops on its border. He said that apart from public pressure, Netanyahu is also facing increasing political pressure from within and outside his ruling coalition. He said that Netanyahu’s political rivals are accusing him of lying to the Israeli public and prioritizing his political survival over any agreement to bring back hostages. He said that there is more pressure within his coalition to continue the war until Hamas is wiped out.
Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that at the root of Netanyahu’s current dilemma are multiple corruption allegations levelled against him in 2016. Subsequent police investigations led to charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud against Netanyahu in 2019. He said that since the allegations became public, Netanyahu has resorted to various political maneuvers to avoid appearing before the court, being convicted and serving a prison sentence. He said that initially this included using parliamentary procedures to obstruct the judicial process. When these attempts failed, Netanyahu’s trial began in May 2020. Subsequently, in March 2021, Netanyahu lost the elections, leaving him without any institutional protection, he said.
Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that since Israel has only one parliamentary house, the Supreme Court acts as a check and balance on the power of the Knesset. The government’s intention is to ensure that it always has a majority in the committee that appoints judges. This was a matter of particular concern for many Israelis. He said opponents feared that these reforms would give Netanyahu the power to appoint judges sympathetic to him in the Supreme Court and possibly immunity from prosecution. He said that for nationalists, the proposed reforms would remove many of the institutional checks and balances imposed by the Supreme Court on the expansion of Israeli settlements and the appropriation of Palestinian land in the West Bank, something that Israeli nationalists have wanted for years. He said that if successful, it would mean that Israel’s 57-year-long occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem would become permanent. This would be a warning signal for any future Palestinian state and this will not go unnoticed by Hamas. He said that the proposed reforms led to massive protests in Israel from January to October 2023. Netanyahu’s government got some relief only when Hamas attacked on 7 October.
But the Hamas attacks on 7 October created an additional problem for Netanyahu, Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said, as it was a huge security lapse that resulted in the loss of a large number of Jewish lives. He said throughout his political career Netanyahu has always presented himself as the only politician capable of ensuring the security of Jews and Israel. This includes his refusal to accept the possibility of a Palestinian state, which he sees as an existential threat to Israel, he said. The fact that Netanyahu is responsible for this huge security failure strikes at the core of his political popularity. This has left him politically weak and he has to depend on his coalition partners to stay in power, he said.
Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that if any of these parties leaves the coalition, it will no longer have a majority in the Knesset, which means that fresh elections will be held, which Netanyahu is likely to lose given the current political climate. He said that unable to influence the political and judicial process, Netanyahu found himself at the mercy of the very justice system he wanted to undermine. He said that as a result Netanyahu is determined to do whatever is necessary to remain in power. He said that the Israeli army has also recently launched the largest military incursion into the West Bank since October 2023. More than 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in addition to the more than 41,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza. He said while Israel claims it is fighting terrorism, the ultimate aim of these actions, along with Israel’s actions in Gaza, appears to be to crush any organized Palestinian resistance to Israel’s occupation and its annexation of Palestinian land. If successful, he said, the nationalists’ dream of a Jewish state from the river to the sea will be closer than ever to reality.
