Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on October 3, 2017 that “We are not interested in a false reconciliation, in which the various Palestinian factions reconcile with each other at the expense of our existence.
Therefore, we expect to see three things happen: one – recognition of the State of Israel; two – the dismemberment of the military branch of Hamas; and three – a severance of the relations with Iran, which calls for our destruction.”
There is no mention of the hostages in this statement, for the simple reason that Netanyahu made it on October 3, 2017, at a meeting of the Bible Circle, which he used to host at the official Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem – six years before 250 hostages were kidnapped by Hamas to the Gaza Strip.
At that meeting, one of the issues which seemed to be on Netanyahu’s mind was that Israel must prepare for the various threats to its existence, so that it will be able to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2048.
He specifically pointed out that over 2,000 years ago, the independent Jewish Hasmonean kingdom had survived for only 80 years: from the Hasmonean revolt against the Seleucid Empire, to the beginning of the conquest of the Land of Israel by the Roman Empire.
What Netanyahu did not say on that occasion was that the Kingdom of Kings David and Solomon, ~700 years before the Hasmoneans, also existed for no longer than 80 years.
Furthermore, he did not explain why the Hasmonean state did not survive for longer, or whether we can learn anything from its experience – i.e. whether it could have survived any longer had its leaders acted in a different manner than they did.
Religious circles have a simple explanation for why the two ancient Jewish states did not survive for longer than they did. The reason is that “they did evil in the sight of God”, to use a biblical quote. I doubt whether Netanyahu, as a non-religious person, accepts this explanation, but he offered no alternative Realpolitik one.
NETANYAHU MADE another statement at the Bible Circle meeting that is worth taking note of. ”In my opinion, there is no Jewish future without the Bible,” he said, calling it “the first and paramount foundation upon which we exist.
Now, it is not that attempts are not being made to shatter this foundation: This is being done by all sorts of factors who try to do so. But with the help of Hashem... we remain steadfast.”
He did not explain who is trying to shatter our biblical foundation, and why, nor did he explain in what way the Bible – which describes various events in ancient Jewish history, that might or might not have occurred as described, is a reliable basis for determining how to follow a realistic and viable policy of survival now.
In other words, for those of us who are not religious, and do not believe in the existence of God as he is portrayed in Orthodox Judaism, the Bible is undoubtedly a unique document to be cherished and studied, but not necessarily one written by God himself, and not one that can be considered an accurate and reliable historical document.
WHAT IMPRESSED me most in what Netanyahu said back in 2017 is the fact that already then – two years after the IDF’s Operation “Protective Edge” (Tzuk Eitan) in the Gaza Strip – he viewed the destruction of the military branch of Hamas to be one of the prerequisites for Israel’s existence, just as he claims today.
However, sometime between October 2017 and October 2023, Netanyahu replaced this conception with one that viewed the Hamas terrorist group as being “militarily deterred,” and a lesser threat to Israel than the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. Today, following the events of October 7, the prime minister blames the various branches of Israel’s security forces for the misconception that enabled that massacre to occur.
If, after the war/fighting in the Gaza Strip will come to an end, a serious National Commission of Inquiry will be formed to investigate the background to the events of October 7, which caught Israel’s security forces and its government by total surprise, perhaps Netanyahu will finally explain his zig-zag on the issue of trying to put an end to Hamas’s military force – and why, even in the period when he argued that it ought to be done, he never approved of or initiated an Israeli plan to try to achieve such a goal.
This will undoubtedly shed light on the extent of Netanyahu’s direct responsibility for the application of the misconception, which inter alia led him to approve the Qatari delivery of suitcases filled with cash to Hamas in the Gaza Strip as of November 2018, after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stopped the transfer of funds to the terrorist group by means of Palestinian banks in the PA.
In fact, Qatar had started to transfer large sums of money to Hamas in 2012, largely through Palestinian banks and allegedly with Israeli approval, despite the fact that economic sanctions had been applied to the group by many states after they defined it as a terrorist organization.
I MENTIONED the principle of Realpolitik in the title of this article, and have alluded to it in the article. In case the term is not understood by some readers, here is its definition: “politics and policies based on pragmatic and material considerations rather than on ideological or ethical objectives.”
Over the years, Netanyahu has been considered a follower of Realpolitik, both in his political conduct and in Israel’s foreign and internal affairs, even though on occasion he seems to diverge from this principle, especially when he does not get his way.
Another explanation is that since January 28, 2020, when as prime minister Netanyahu was indicted on three criminal charges, many of his policy decisions are said to be based on or influenced by his desire to overcome his legal travails, and survive politically.
Thus, even though he knows that Israel is totally dependent on American arms and munitions supplies, as well as invaluable diplomatic support in the UN, Netanyahu allowed his personal relations with US President Joe Biden to deteriorate, either over his insistence on planning to enter and occupy the city of Rafah along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt in order to achieve the goal of completing the destruction of Hamas, or his refusal to hold talks about practical plans for the administration of the Gaza Strip after Hamas will be ousted – both influenced by the demands of his right-wing political base and partners.
Currently, the situation appears to have improved, at least temporarily, as a result of Iran launching hundreds of missiles and drones from its territory against Israel in the wee hours of Sunday morning, as a retaliation for Israel’s attack on a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1, in which seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members were killed, including Brig.-Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, one of its senior commanders.
Biden to Iran: "Don't"
As Tehran threatened that it would retaliate, Biden immediately sided with Israel, increasing America’s military presence in the region, and warning the Iranians: “Don’t.”
Now that the Islamic Republic has not heeded the president’s warning, Biden has requested that the prime minister avoid a counter-retaliation against Iran. Realpolitik dictates that the Jewish state should suppress its urge to take revenge, and thus avoid letting this already complicated situation get completely out of control.
Will Netanyahu now pay heed to Biden? We shall just have to wait and see.
The writer worked in the Knesset for many years as a researcher, and has published extensively, both journalistic and academic articles on current affairs and Israeli politics. Her most recent book, Israel’s Knesset Members – A Comparative Study of an Undefined Job, was published by Routledge.