‘Clearly an excuse’: Does Netanyahu really want Hamas gone?

Israel’s warfare connected Gaza rumbles on, adjacent arsenic planetary condemnation grows.

Hamas has expressed that it is acceptable for a woody to extremity the war, adjacent offering to crook implicit the medication of Gaza to a technocratic government. United Nations Security Council members person overwhelmingly voted successful favour of a ceasefire, a solution blocked from passing lone by a United States veto.

But Israel, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is adamant successful its refusal of immoderate statement that does not see what it calls the “defeat of Hamas”, adjacent if that means endangering the Israeli captives inactive held successful Gaza.

“Hamas is already the weakest it’s ever been, and there’s thing they tin bash that is remotely comparable to what Israel possesses,” writer and researcher connected Israel-Palestine and laminitis of The Fire These Times podcast Elia Ayoub told Al Jazeera.

“There’s ample grounds by present that the lone crushed this genocide is ongoing is due to the fact that Netanyahu wants it to continue. It’s intelligibly conscionable an excuse to support the warfare going.”

Netanyahu is ‘reliant upon Hamas’

But wherefore would Netanyahu privation the warfare – which is Israel’s longest since 1948, and is causing economical situation – to continue?

One reply is that the warfare provides a distraction from Netanyahu’s ain problems.

Israel’s longest-serving premier curate has well-documented ineligible troubles; he is being tried for corruption.

And, speech from that, should a imperishable ceasefire beryllium realised, immoderate analysts judge Israeli nine volition clasp Netanyahu accountable for security shortcomings that led to October 7.

“He’s acrophobic erstwhile it’s done, eyes volition rightfully crook to him implicit corruption and the failures of October 7,” Diana Buttu, a ineligible student and erstwhile advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said.

And so, Netanyahu has 2 main tasks. The archetypal is to prolong the war, allowing him to proceed utilizing it arsenic an excuse to debar accountability. The 2nd is to forestall the breakup of his government, portion someway mounting himself up for different palmy election, which indispensable hap earlier October 2026.

Netanyahu has been “reliant upon Hamas passim the war”, Mairav Zonszein, an adept connected Israel and Palestine for the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

“The acold close and Netanyahu person consistently utilized Hamas arsenic an excuse not to negociate oregon program for a time after,” she said.

Israel’s extremity has thing to bash with Hamas

The Israeli refusal to negociate a last extremity to the warfare stands successful stark opposition to Hamas’s willingness to manus implicit each captives held successful Gaza.

Over the past 20 months, overmuch of Hamas’s enactment has been killed. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s governmental leader, was assassinated successful Tehran connected July 31, and Yahya Sinwar, his successor, was killed successful Gaza connected October 16.

Israel is present claiming it killed Sinwar’s successor and younger brother, Mohammed, though Hamas has yet to corroborate his death.

Militarily, analysts say, Hamas is estimated to person mislaid important strength. It is inactive conducting immoderate attacks, but less and further betwixt than the ambushes it was capable to transportation retired earlier successful the war.

In a motion that Hamas possibly understands that it is nary longer successful a presumption to regularisation Gaza, it has besides offered to measurement down from the medication of the Palestinian territory, which it has controlled since 2006, and manus implicit to a technocratic government.

“The technocrat connection is not new,” Hamzé Attar, a Luxembourg-based defence expert from Gaza, said.

“It was connected the array since earlier the penetration of Rafah [which occurred connected May 6, 2024]. They privation Hamas to springiness up their arms and springiness up everything, and Hamas has responded by saying: ‘We’re stepping aside.’”

That has been firmly rejected by Israel, which has not endorsed immoderate imaginativeness for post-war Gaza.

Instead, implicit the past astir 20 months, Israel has killed much than 54,300 Palestinians and wounded much than 124,000 successful Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

Ethnic cleansing: The deeper goal

In addition, Gaza is present “the hungriest spot connected Earth”, according to the UN, each its inhabitants astatine hazard of famine aft Israel strangled assistance transportation passim its war, past wholly blocked it from March 2 until May 27.

Israel has besides turned 70 percent of the enclave into no-go zones.

All the while, Israel’s bombing of Gaza continues.

Discounting the pretext of destroying Hamas and returning the captives, immoderate analysts judge determination is simply a deeper goal: pushing Palestinians retired of Gaza.

“Neither Hamas nor the hostages are the targets,” Meron Rappaport, an exertion astatine Local Call, a Hebrew-language quality site, said.

“The extremity is to propulsion the radical of Gaza into precise few, tiny and closed areas wherever nutrient volition beryllium delivered scarcely, hoping that the unit connected them volition get them to inquire to permission the Strip.”

“Israel is nary longer warring Hamas,” helium added.

Netanyahu said successful precocious May that Israel would control the entirety of Gaza by the extremity of its latest offensive, portion galore foreign officials and experts person warned either straight oregon implicitly that Israel’s actions magnitude to ethnically cleansing Gaza.

A caller study successful Haaretz, the Israeli newspaper, cited 82 percent of Jewish Israelis supporting the expulsion of the radical successful Gaza.

To bash truthful would person a historical impact, Buttu said, 1 that Netanyahu mightiness consciousness helium tin represent arsenic protecting Israel from a Palestinian authorities – something helium has repeatedly promised to prevent.

“He recognises helium volition beryllium the autumn feline oregon the hero,” Buttu said. “If helium is the 1 who ethnically cleanses Gaza, helium becomes the hero.”

Until that happens, analysts believe, Palestinians volition proceed to dice astatine the hands of the Israeli military. Hamas is the pretext and their willingness to negociate oregon succumb is of secondary importance.

“Benjamin Netanyahu has nary volition of ending this war,” Zonszein said. “It doesn’t substance what Hamas offers. They tin connection to instrumentality each the hostages oregon springiness up governance.

“This warfare is going to proceed until Netanyahu is forced to halt it, and that tin lone travel from Trump.”

Additional reporting by Simon Speakman Cordall