Murat Yesil, Ph. D.
Professor, Journalism & Media Studies
Istanbul Ticaret University
Abstract
The continued bombing of Gaza by Israel has sparked outrage and calls for international action to prevent starvation, disease, and genocide. Demonstrations against Israel are taking place worldwide, including in countries traditionally supportive of Israel. Many world leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have called for an immediate halt to Israeli attacks on Gaza. Support for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government has collapsed, with polls showing a significant drop in credibility. Netanyahu appeared on CBS television, presenting a different image than his usual mourning appearance, blaming Hamas for civilian deaths. Hospitals, mosques, churches, and UNRWA buildings have been hit in the bombardment of Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant described the conflict as fighting “human animals.”. The Israeli army’s plan to uproot Hamas and achieve its goals quickly seems to be failing, with a slow ground incursion resulting in a massive humanitarian crisis. The Israeli army has proved ineffective against Hamas, and Mossad has been unable to locate Hamas headquarters. Netanyahu aimed to induce despair and panic among the people of Gaza but failed to achieve his planned goal. Questions arise about the true intentions of the Israeli army and Netanyahu’s goals in Gaza. Now, the world is watching to see how Netanyahu extricates himself from the Gaza situation.
Keywords: Gaza, Palestinians, Netanyahu, Israel bombing, Genocide
Introduction
Israel’s continued bombing of Gaza for the past seven weeks has sparked growing outrage in the world community. So much so that even in countries that remained insensitive to these atrocities, people began to say that the Israeli army should be stopped: “World Must Act’: Gaza Faces Starvation, Disease, and Genocide. As United Nations officials and medical groups on Friday reiterated the harrowing conditions in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s war on Hamas, a U.S. advocacy organization, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest U.S. Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, demanded international action to prevent starvation, disease, and genocide (Corbett, 2023, Nov. 17)”. “More than a dozen UN Special Rapporteurs said there was evidence of “increasing genocidal incitement” from Israeli officials regarding war plans for Gaza and an intent to “destroy the Palestinian people (Hall & Woodward, 2023, Nov 18)”.
Demonstrations against Israel are taking place in a geography stretching from Europe to South America and Southeast Asia. Even in the United States, Israel’s most important supporter, criticism emerged. Jessica Corbett, editor of Common Dreams magazine, commented, “Top Israeli and American officials have rejected growing global calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, though U.S. President Joe Biden faces mounting internal dissent over his “unwavering” support for Israel, which he has expressed in part by asking Congress for $14.3 billion in military aid, on top of the nearly $4 billion that the nation already gets annually (Corbett, 2023, November 17)”.
Many leaders of countries, especially Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have made statements calling for an immediate halt to the Israeli attacks on Gaza, which have been going on for more than 50 days. In this context, a study published by the Aljazeera television channel confirms this development: “The number of countries calling on Israel to stop its aggression and establish a ceasefire is increasing. The countries currently on this list are “Belize, Brazil, Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Qatar, Colombia, Kuwait, Cuba, Malaysia, Norway, Pakistan, Oman, Russia, and Syria (Aljazeera, 2023, October, 15)”.
Netanyahu, who appeared on the screens wearing a black mourning shirt that he had never taken off to show that he was mourning the murder of Jews by Hamas, could not even ingratiate himself with his own voters. This view is confirmed by two separate polls published on CNN and BBC television channels: “Support for Netanyahu and his government has collapsed, with the latest polling conducted by Tel Aviv University for Israeli media showing the vast majority of Israelis want Netanyahu to quit Koplewitz, 2023, Nov. 7)”. “In the latest opinion polls in Israel, Netanyahu’s credibility rating has dropped to 20 percent (BBC-Turkish, 2023, November 4)”. Netanyahu’s prestige in the world community is similar.
The aim of the research is to analyze Netanyahu’s character traits through his statements to the media from October 7, 2023, the first day of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, to November 24, 2023, the date of the cessation of hostilities agreement between Israel and Hamas for the exchange of prisoners. The purpose of this analysis is to understand what the Israeli Prime Minister, who is responsible for the continuous bombing of Gaza for more than seven weeks, the massacre of more than 14,000 civilians in Gaza, and the disqualification of 1.5 million people without homes, bare, hunger, and water, has done in this two-month period and to predict the actions he may take in the future.
The spear no longer fits in the sack
The Israeli Prime Minister, who has been cornered by criticism from both Israel and the world community, is invited to a program on CBS television that gives the impression that he is “specially arranged for him”. Tossing aside the “black mourning shirt symbolizing anger and revenge” on his back, he appears on CBS television “in a white shirt that evokes peace and goodwill.” Netanyahu said with a sad face, “Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn’t have any because we’re doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm’s way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way (O’Donnell, 2023, Nov 16)”. But he blames Hamas for civilian deaths. He claims that civilians have been warned to leave Gaza and move to the south, which it calls a safe zone, but they have not been able to prevent these deaths because Hamas has prevented them from doing so.
However, as Corbett put it, “Nowhere is safe in Gaza. The Israeli authorities asked people to move to the south. However, no part of the Gaza Strip has been spared from bombardment. The military escalation in the south of the last few days defies the reassurance that people had received about moving south to be safe. Hospitals, mosques, churches, bakeries, and over 60 UNRWA buildings and schools have been hit across Gaza,” she continued, noting that at least 103 of members of her agency have been killed (Corbett, 2023, Nov. 17)”.
Commenting on Netanyahu’s “sad expression” during an interview with CBS Television, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We fight human animals and act accordingly (Alter, 2023, October, 14).” Keeping in mind the explanation will make an important contribution to the correct analysis of the background of this “sad facial expression”. Netanyahu’s statements on CBS television are aimed at concealing his true motives. The main goal is not to ensure the safety of these people. The aim is for the Palestinians, whose homes have been reduced to rubble, to walk under their feet and not to be covered in the world’s media. Diplomatic sources say Netanyahu’s statements are far from convincing. As the old saying goes, “The spear doesn’t fit in the sack anymore.”
Israel’s Fading Hopes
The Israeli army, which launched an intensive air and ground offensive on Gaza, seems to have foiled its “plan to uproot Hamas from the Gaza Strip in a short period of time.” In a commentary published in The Week US magazine, “In the days and weeks that followed, the Israeli government has seemed more than willing to acquiesce — first with a brutal aerial bombardment of the densely packed strip, followed by a slow ground incursion that has killed more than 14,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, creating a massive humanitarian crisis that’s captured attention and inflamed passions across the globe (Schwartz, 2023, Nov. 17)”.
Netanyahu argues that they will never agree to a ceasefire and will continue their offensive to achieve their goals with minimal civilian casualties.
However, despite Netanyahu’s words, for some reason, “Even a single civilian loss is a tragedy,” Israeli attacks broadcast live on television always target civilian settlements.
If one considers the reasons for this “contradiction between words and deeds”, the following questions come to mind:
- Is Netanyahu’s goal to confine the Palestinian people to a narrow area in the south, leaving more than 1.5 million civilians homeless, and then allocating the vacated area to new Jewish settlers?
Research Method
In this study, I used the descriptive literature review method. During the research period, stated below, I reviewed and analyzed all available related articles of scientists, commentaries, interviews, and news stories of world media from October 7, 2023, the first day of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, to November 24, 2023, the date of the cessation of hostilities agreement between Israel and Hamas for the exchange of prisoners.
Findings: Critical Consequences of Israeli Attacks
The Israeli army’s attacks, which Netanyahu calls the “war with Hamas” and the world community names it, “brutal operation against the civilian population of Gaza,” reveal three important facts:
- The Israeli army’s attacks on Gaza, which have been going on for seven weeks, have gone down in history as “a documentary of shame” that recorded the massacre of more than 14,000 defenseless civilians, mostly children, and women, the homelessness of more than 1.5 million people, the destruction of a civilization by turning Gaza into ruins.
- The Israeli army, which attacked Gaza with the aim of destroying Hamas, proved to be a terrorist organization that only massacres unprotected, unarmed civilians. However, it has shown itself to be too weak an army to deal with an organization like Hamas, which has limited weapons and personnel in the tiny Gaza territory.
- The Mossad, touted as the world’s most powerful intelligence agency, has been unable to find the headquarters or affiliated centers of Hamas, which it has been monitoring for half a century. And so it showed that it was an inflated balloon, and it exploded in Gaza.
“Four Days Pause” to Clashes
Infuriated by the failures of the Israeli army and Mossad, Netanyahu is trying to induce an atmosphere of despair and panic among the people of Gaza by bombing mosques, churches, and hospitals. According to this plan, the Palestinian people, who would be in a desperate situation, would put intense pressure on Hamas and force it to sign an agreement in the way Israel wanted. However, it is clear that this plan did not work.
It was at this time that the issue of ” Four Days Pause to Clashes” was seen by Netanyahu and his generals as an opportunity that should not be missed.
Netanyahu’s decision to accept a ” Four Days Pause to Clashes” agreement appears to have been made in order to ease the pressure of Israeli and international public opinion while preparing for new offensive plans. Netanyahu has no intention of stopping until he achieves his planned goal in Gaza, as he made clear on CBS television.
He will not stop. However, these attacks, which are about to enter their eighth week, have not yet yielded results that meet Israel’s expectations. Hamas is still in place and continues to inflict heavy casualties on the Israeli army. Hamas has substantiated these claims with video footage sent to media outlets.
Hamas spokesmen’s statements that “we have not yet begun the actual operation to deal a heavy blow to the Israeli army” are another source of concern for Netanyahu and his generals.
The question of how Netanyahu will get out of the Gaza quagmire, which he has entered with boundless anger and a thirst for revenge, seems to occupy the world public opinion for an indefinite period of time.
Conclusion and Evaluation
As a result, Netanyahu’s character analysis reveals a leader driven by anger and a sense of revenge. Despite growing global outrage and calls for a ceasefire, Netanyahu has sought to justify the Israeli army’s attacks on Gaza and blame Hamas for civilian casualties. But the reality is that innocent civilians continue to suffer while hospitals, mosques, and schools are targeted.
The Israeli army’s attacks failed to achieve the goal of eradicating Hamas, and it was unable to deal with an organization that was so small that it could not even be compared to its own strength. This tarnished the image of the Israeli army and the Mossad. Whether this series of failures will lead the Israeli prime minister to new madness, time will tell. However, the clues as to what Netanyahu may be willing to risk in order to maintain his long-shaky rule in the Gaza impasse can be read in Kimhi’s analysis twenty-two years ago:
“Benjamin Netanyahu exhibits many models of egocentric behavior. His personal success is more important than ideology, and he pursues it relentlessly. He does not hesitate to exploit other people, including his colleagues, to achieve his goals. He easily cuts off his relationship with people who no longer serve his purpose. Netanyahu sees politics as a jungle where the strong survive and the weak perish, and he justifies any means to achieve his goals. Their behavior and descriptions reflect this approach. Testimonies from politicians, journalists, and leaders portray him as untrustworthy and show that he often made promises and reneged on them (Kimhi, 2001)”.
It is clear that Netanyahu has no intention of stopping until he achieves his planned goal in Gaza, which raises concerns about the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
As the world watches the situation in Gaza, there is uncertainty about how Netanyahu will extricate himself from this quagmire of anger and revenge. The international community must continue to condemn the actions of the Israeli military and push for a lasting ceasefire that prioritizes the safety and well-being of innocent civilians. The suffering of the Palestinian people cannot be ignored, and it is essential to find a just and peaceful solution to the conflict.
Bibliography:
Aljazeera. (2023, October 15). Which countries have criticised Israeli attacks on Gaza? Aljazeera and Agencies.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/15/which-countries-have-criticised-israeli-attacks-on-gaza
Alter, C. (2023, October 14). How the Activist Left turned on Israel. TIME. https://time.com/6323730/hamas-attack-left-response/
BBC-Turkçe. (2023, Nov. 4). İsrail halkı Netanyahu’nun arkasında mı? https://www.bbc.com/turkce/articles/cq5pj8gl2xwo
Corbett, J. ( 2023, Nov. 17). ‘World Must Act’: Gaza Faces Starvation, Disease, and Genocide. Common Dreams. https://www.commondreams.org/news/conditions-in-gaza
Hall, R. & Woodward, A. (2023, Nov 18). The international community is ‘failing to prevent genocide’ in Gaza, UN experts warn. Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/gaza-genocide-israel-un-hamas-b2449313.html
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O’Donnell, N. (2023, Nov 16). Netanyahu said efforts to minimize civilian casualties failed and blamed Hamas. CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell
Schwartz, R. (2023, Nov. 17). Israel’s Gaza offensive is at a crossroads. What comes next? https://theweek.com/politics/israel-gaza-offensive-next