The time is right for an Israeli-Saudi deal that could help end the war in Gaza.
  • mozz
    11•3 months ago

    This article seems shockingly naive.

    He knows that without American involvement he won’t be able to strike a deal to free the hostages Hamas is still holding in Gaza.

    Netanyahu clearly doesn’t give a shit about the hostages. It’s better for him, politically, if they are still out there and justifying the atrocities he wants to commit, than if the hostages thing is resolved and he’s just being a genocidal maniac.

    He also understands that a military defeat of Hamas will matter little if the group can reconstitute itself

    Same thing. Hamas being out there is clearly much better for Netanyahu’s priorities. This is why the Israeli government likes to facilitate Hamas staying in power, route aid to them, support them against their less violent domestic opposition – because Netanyahu has decided on taking land and killing Palestinians, and the more damage Hamas is doing, the better a flimsy excuse he will have in place for doing so.

    Moreover, he understands that if he wants an alternative to Hamas rule in Gaza, he needs key Arab states—the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and maybe Morocco—to work with the United States and other actors to create an interim administration in Gaza that would assume responsibility for day-to-day governance and security.

    Why on Earth would he want an alternative to Hamas rule in Gaza. Again, Netanyahu’s government routes funding to Hamas. Some of their politicians have explicitly said that they like Hamas in charge because it delegitimizes Palestine on the world stage (meaning that the Israeli civilians who die to Hamas are, presumably, an acceptable cost for that diplomatic boost they’re getting in exchange).

    Etc etc

    Stop taking lying governments at their word in their framing of their conflicts. That kind of “golly gee we’re just trying to protect Israeli civilians and create peace, but these pesky Hamas people keep getting in the way, which we totally hate” stuff is meant for the rubes and the voters. It has no business being taken seriously by supposed professionals.

      • mozz
        2•3 months ago

        Yeah I feel like we could set them straight.

        Honestly man, I wish I could say that the real high level professionals are aware of the reality in enough detail that they would also laugh at a story like this, but I have a deep fear that they may not be.

        It would definitely explain a lot about US reactions to the endless series of “ooh just missed it” peace agreement failures this year if they thought this story accurately represented how Netanyahu thinks.

          • mozz
            2•3 months ago

            I’m not trying to have hubris but I feel like, yes, in some aspects, yes.

            I’m sure they are more up to speed on the details and I’m sure if I were in the position and making decisions, I would start fucking up horribly on some things. But, definitely there can be people in positions of power who are making horrible decisions because of blindness to key factors that the activist community is aware of – “Secrets” by Daniel Ellsberg probably has some of the best examples I’m aware of. It’s not entirely just me talking out of my ass.

            • @fukhueson@lemmy.worldOP
              0•3 months ago

              No totally, that’s why Blinken and Miller should take notes from Lemmy. And they should probably read that book too. I’m sure they’ll change course because clearly we know they don’t know what they’re doing. It’s only one way.

              • mozz
                0•3 months ago

                backs away gingerly

                (I feel like you may not know who Daniel Ellsberg is)

                • @fukhueson@lemmy.worldOP
                  -2•3 months ago

                  leans back in chair, twirling moustache, sipping cognac

                  Why sweet lemming, they’re the author of the book that’s going to open Blinken’s and Miller’s eyes to the truth!

    • @Mammothmothman@lemmy.ca
      -1•3 months ago

      Its ok we know the americans just want the forever war to continue so they can keep funneling money from the middle class to the owners of defence contractors.

      • mozz
        2•3 months ago

        One of the most important things to understand in geopolitics is that every country is a schizophrenic mixture of all kinds of priorities and actions.

        “The Americans” have no single specific goal or policy with Israel. Biden has his priorities: Some amount of wanting to get reelected, some amount of wanting to preserve America’s alliances and priorities on the world stage (of which human rights isn’t any kind of priority), and some amount of actual concern for human rights. He’s chiefly responsible for the US’s behavior here and so policy is most directly a balancing act between those different things. But even there, his Israel policy is also at the mercy of congress which has a variety of other priorities, fear of the voters who may have wildly “extreme” priorities on one end or the other of the scale, etc.

        The defense lobby that wants as many wars in as many places as possible, supplied by the US, and for them to go on as long as possible is certainly not an unimportant factor in that equation but it’s not the only factor.

  • Flying Squid
    4•3 months ago

    All I can say is I truly wish anyone who thinks they have a decent shot at ending the genocide luck.