Alwaght- 20 months have gone since Gaza war started and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still repeats his claims of gaining a victory over Hamas resistance movement. The ongoing war in Gaza is the longest since foundation of Israeli regime on the Palestinian lands about 8 decades ago. No expert at the beginning of the war predicted that it will continue 20 months after its start and even the Israelis themselves expected to take control of Gaza in a lightening operation, but they are yet far from this aim. The Israeli occupation has bombed the coastal enclave in the harshest possible way, damaging or destroying over 80 percent of homes. But the Palestinian region is not yet fully controlled by Israeli army.
Only 40 percent
Though Netanyahu has repeatedly said he wants to seize Gaza control at its entirety, the army's announcement on Sunday showed that Israel has only managed to control 40 percent of the entire territory of Gaza. According to The Telegraph, the army estimates that if three zones are established in Gaza within the next two months, the regime will be able to increase its control of Gaza to more than 70 percent, but everything is still uncertain, because before this, when the Gaza war began, Netanyahu had defined four goals for himself, but after 20 months, almost none of these goals have been achieved.
In general, Netanyahu had four declared goals after October 7 and Operation Al-Aqsa Storm: Returning the prisoners, destroying all resistance groups in Palestine and Lebanon, ending Iran's missile program and weakening its Axis of Resistance, and finally establishing a new order in the region, dominated by Israel. However, the Israeli regime has not achieved any of these goals to date.
Netanyahu's challenges for stopping the war
One of the biggest challenges of Netanyahu at present is stopping the war. A large part of Israeli society arranges weekly protests calling for end to war and prisoner swap. But Netanyahu has so far rejected any war end proposal, giving alternative plans, as he does not intend to stop the genocidal campaign.
Why Netanyahu is rejecting to halt the war in Gaza goes back to his own domestic and judicial troubles. The root of Netanyahu’s current dilemma is a series of corruption charges made against him in 2016. Subsequent police investigations led to Netanyahu being indicted in 2019 on charges of breach of trust, accepting bribes, and fraud. Since the charges were given publicity, Netanyahu has made various political maneuvers to avoid facing trial and a possible conviction and possibly prison sentence. He is determined to do whatever it takes to stay in power, even if it means demands from his hardline allies and hardline ministers like Stamotrich and Ben-Gvir as finance and internal security ministers to continue the war. As a result, Netanyahu, in order to keep his cabinet in power and prevent the resignation of radical ministers, is pursuing the option of war in Gaza, in accordance with the wishes of the cabinet hardliners, because he knows that stopping the war will mean the resignation of cabinet ministers and, as a result, his loss of power as PM, and losing power will also mean that Netanyahu will be tried in court and possibly imprisoned.
In fact, throughout his political career, Netanyahu has always portrayed himself as the only politician capable of guaranteeing the security of Jews and Israel in order to remain in power, and now he is trying to maintain the power by continuing the war.
Tough path of continuing the war
At the same time, continuing the war for Netanyahu is shrouded in many difficulties. Here are some of them:
Home opposition: Reports coming out of the occupied territories suggest that Israeli youths everyday grow more opposed to the war and the Israeli community more than ever calls for end of war and swapping the prisoners. Almost every week, Israelis hold anti-war protests. Alon Le Green, a settler opposed to war, along with about 600 others were arrested for demonstrating near Gaza border and were held in custody for two nights and then were put under house arrest. They are part of a growing wave of opposition in Israel to the ongoing war. The continued holding of Israeli prisoners in Gaza has sparked widespread protests inside the occupied territories, with families and civil society groups calling for immediate action to stop the war in Gaza. Polls show that at least 67 percent of Israelis want an end to the conflict in Gaza and the return of the prisoners.
International opposition: The sharp escalation of the war in Gaza and the blocking of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, who are at risk of famine, have drawn the strongest condemnation from some of Israel's Western allies since the start of the war. Several European countries, as well as Canada, have recently signed a statement opposing rejuvenated war in Gaza. The US, as Israel's most powerful backer, has not publicly criticized the escalation, but Trump has bypassed Netanyahu by negotiating directly with Hamas and reached a separate agreement with the resistance movement for the release of the last living American prisoner and skipped Israel during his Persian Gulf tour last week. Much of the international criticism of the war in Gaza has focused on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is a direct result of the two-month blockade of Gaza by the Israeli occupation; a blockade that has prevented food, medicine and other essential aid from reaching Gaza, has led aid organizations to warn of dwindling food supplies, and doctors reporting malnutrition among children.
Military limits: Also, Tel Aviv faces considerable military limits for continuing its campaign. The Yedioth Aharonot reported that some military commanders signed a petition calling for an end to the war. Two weeks ago, 1,000 pilots and servicemen of the Israeli air force launched military protests, which quickly spread to ground and intelligence units , and eventually to the police. Reports also said that Danny Yatom, Ephraim Halevy, and Tamir Bardo, who have previously headed the Mossad, along with several former deputies of the agency and dozens of heads of various Mossad departments, have also joined the protests. On the other hand, the insubordination of some soldiers in the army has pushed the army into a need for fresh forces, and this has led the Israeli army to launch "professional conscription" plan, but this plan also requires new funds, while the Israeli regime is grappling with budget deficit.
Financial obstacles: Gaza war has also led to a severe budget deficit. Haaretz, reporting on the issue, said that resuming the war has led to extensive budget deficit, estimate at 15-25 billion shekel ($4.2 billion to $7 billion). The newspaper reported that all the basic assumptions on which this year's budget was based are no longer valid. Haaretz added that the budget deficit could lead to increased taxes and cuts in social services, increasing the fiscal deficit. Estimates also indicate that if the war is lingered, the Israeli budget deficit could go higher billions of dollars. Israeli sources report that the deficit has triggered concerns about losing control over war expenses.
