Jerusalem (AP) – When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered this week Assassination attempt Of the leaders of Hamas in Qatar, he gambled big in his campaign and committed the group to submission.
There are growing signs that the mission has failed, so that gambling It seems to be backfiring.
Netanyahu wanted to get closer to a vision of a “complete victory” over the militant group that killed the senior exile leader in Hamas and attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Almost two years of war In the Gaza Strip.
Instead, Hamas claims that its leader has survived, claiming that Netanyahu’s global status has already been severely damaged and another blow to the scene of Gaza’s destruction and humanitarian disaster.
Tuesday’s airstrikes raged Qatar, an influential US ally who had been a key mediator throughout the war, and drew intense criticism of the Arab world. I also have that Tension relationship with the White House And hopes to reach a ceasefire could become confused and put 20 hostages believed to be still alive in Gaza.
However, the strike shows Netanyahu’s retreat, but Israeli leaders show no signs of retreating or halting the war. And Netanyahu is not facing an immediate threat to his rule, as his Hardline Union is still firmly behind him.
Netanyahu’s hope for a “victory image” for his government
Five low-level Hamas members and Qatari security guards were killed on strike. However, Hamas said the intended target senior asylum leadership conference has all survived to discuss the new US ceasefire proposal. However, the group has not published photos of the leaders and Qatar has not commented on their terms.
Harel Chalev, an Arab affairs expert at Tel Aviv University, said that if the airstrikes killed the best leadership, the attack could have given Netanyahu the opportunity to declare Hamas destruction.
“It’s all very iconic and part of what allows Netanyahu to say at a certain point, ‘We won, we killed all of them,'” he said.
Israel’s fierce 23-month attack in Gaza wiped out all of Hamas’ top leadership within the territory. However, Netanyahu is trying to eradicate the group as part of its goal of “complete victory.”
It seems more and more unlikely by now, making it even more difficult for Netanyahu to push the ceasefire through his hardline coalition.
Far-right members of the Israeli governing coalition have cornered Netanyahu and are threatening to overthrow his government unless Israel pushes for a widespread operation in Gaza city despite Israeli masses having serious unrest and widespread opposition by many.
The successful venture in Qatar may have helped Netanyahu to appease the hardliner despite eliminating the officials responsible for negotiating the possibility of a ceasefire.
Burning channels in Qatar
Israel had the ability to target Hamas leaders in Doha from the start of the war, but did not want to oppose Katalis while negotiations took place, Kolev said.
Qatar has helped negotiate two previous ceasefires, which released 148 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces rescued only eight hostages alive and retrieved the bodies of 51 hostages.
Israel complained that Qatar has not put pressure on Hamas, but it remained open until Tuesday.
“Israel has informed the world that it has given up on negotiations due to the attack,” Chalev said. “They decided to burn the channel in Qatar.”
Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullan al-Thani said after the strike, “I don’t think there’s anything effective.” However, he was not elaborate and stopped saying that Qatar would end its mediation efforts.
It remains unclear how Netanyahu hopes to win the release of the remaining hostages.
On Thursday, Sheikh Mohammed accused Israel of abandoning the hostages.
“The extremists who control Israel today don’t care about hostages. Otherwise, how do they justify the timing of this attack?” Sheikh Mohammed told the UN Security Council.
Nevertheless, he said his country is ready to resume mediation without showing any next step. On Friday, Sheikh Mohammed met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. Relationships between major Middle Eastern allies.
Tensions with the US
Netanyahu, who has received close support from the US since President Donald Trump took office, appears to have a tense connection with his most important allies.
Trump said he was “very unhappy” about the airstrikes and assured Catalis that such an attack would never happen again.
However, Trump has not said whether he has shown that he will take punitive action against Israel or that he will pressure Netanyahu to stop the war.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is mercilessly threatened and threatened additional actions if Qatar continues to host Hamas leadership.
The message to Hamas is clear, he said Thursday: “There is no place where we don’t reach you.”
There is little impact on the war in Gaza
Israel is pushing for the spread of attacks aimed at conquering Gaza city. The military urged full evacuation of the area, which holds around one million people, prior to the expected invasion.
Gail Tarshil, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said:
Israel is blasting calls from the UN, the European Union and more and more Western countries to halt wars later this month, she said, which plans to recognize the Palestinian state at the UN Security Council.
Trump is the only person who could change this trajectory, she added.
Netanyahu’s political future is not threatened
If Hamas leaders survive and negotiations collapse, Netanyahu will further alienate about two-thirds of the Israeli people who want to end the war and have a contract to bring hostages back.
However, the opposite had been in place for several months and had little effect on Netanyahu.
“They’re thinking tanks in Jerusalem,” said Johanan Presner of the Israeli Institute of Democracy.
Instead, his political survival depends on his governing coalition, many of whom express heartfelt support for the attempted assassination.
This caused panic and more suffering for hostage families still being held in Gaza.
Einav Zangarkar, whose son Mathan is one of the prisoners, said he was “trembling with fear” after hearing about the Israeli attack in Doha this week.
“Why does the Prime Minister insist on blowing up every opportunity of a deal?” she asked, turning on her tearful threat. “why?”
