Don’t Confuse Netanyahu’s Interests With Israel’s
With no path to peace in Gaza, it’s time for Biden to get tougher on Israel.
Protestors stand behind tents near the residence of the Israeli prime minister in Jerusalem during a rally organized by family and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Photographer: MENAHEM KAHANA/AFPRight after Hamas bloodied Israel on Oct. 7, US President Joe Biden gave the Jewish state and its leaders some hard-won advice: Don’t make the mistake we made after al-Qaeda’s Sept. 11 attack on America, more than 20 years ago. The time is overdue to impose costs on Israel’s government for roundly ignoring that counsel, as it chooses a path to lasting instability both for Israel and the wider Middle East.
Benjamin Netanyahu made clear in Washington last week and in the days since that he believes he has solid domestic support for continuing with the war in Gaza until “victory,” defined as the complete destruction of Hamas. Equally clear now is that he has zero intention of even cracking a door toward the creation of a Palestinian state, and that he considers indefinite military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank a viable path to Israeli security.