Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be giving an address on Friday at the UN General Assembly in New York.
When he spoke in 2024, the war against Hamas was almost a year old. In his speech, Netanyahu said Hamas “has to go” and “we won’t rest until our citizens return safely to our homes.
“This war can come to an end now. All that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms, and release all the hostages. But if they don’t, we will fight until we achieve victory, total victory.”
A year later, much has changed, while many things have remained the same.
Twenty living and 28 dead hostages are presumed to be held by the terrorist group. The IDF has surrounded Gaza City, one of the last remaining terror strongholds.
There has been an avalanche of Western countries, led by the UK, France, Canada, and Spain, that have recently recognized a Palestinian state.
And, as we know all too well, despite the multiple targeting of their headquarters in Yemen, the Houthis are continuing to attack Israel with increasing success.
On the positive side, Israel removed the immediate nuclear threat from Iran during the remarkable 12-day war in June, and in the North, residents have returned home to quiet. The Lebanese government is intent on disarming and marginalizing what remains of Hezbollah.
In Syria, Israel has not allowed the unstable regime of Ahmed al-Shaara to become a breeding ground for terrorism, and is close to forging an unprecedented security agreement that will keep the residents of the North safe and secure.
When he speaks on Friday, Netanyahu can point to many of these accomplishments, and he could repeat what he said last year, which is still spot on, especially in light of the fact that his plane had to circumvent the airspace of countries that might have had him arrested.
“The real war criminals are not in Israel. They’re in Iran. They’re in Gaza, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen. Those of you who stand with these war criminals, those of you who stand with evil against good, with the curse against the blessing, those of you who do so should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Why Netanyahu must look to the future
However, instead of casting blame, instead of looking back and pointing fingers at the Western countries that recognized Palestine, and instead of sticking to the absolutism of “total victory” over Hamas, Netanyahu needs to look to the future.
He owes it to the UN member states who don’t walk out – and to the people of Israel – to lay out his vision of what happens when the war ends in Gaza. He needs to explain how the campaign in Gaza will defeat Hamas and bring the hostages home, eventualities that seem incompatible.
He should acknowledge the world’s focus on Gaza by showing some empathy for the suffering the Gazan people have endured, caused by Hamas, of course, but inadvertently exacerbated by the IDF manhunt for terrorists, which has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands.
He needs to acknowledge the immense sacrifice that so many Israelis have made, with their lives or their livelihood, serving for hundreds of days in reserves or regular service, while others refuse to serve and demonstrate in the streets.
He needs to acknowledge the pain and suffering of the hostage families, who have endured nearly two years of unthinkable sorrow.
He should avoid using the threat of annexation of territory as a punishment or revenge for Palestinian state recognition, a move that plays only to his domestic base. Likewise, he must distance himself from the threat of remaining in Gaza and the “building bonanza” delusions of his expansionist cabinet ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
He should be open to the plan of US President Donald Trump to end the war and return all the hostages, even if it means not achieving every detail of the war’s goals, as well as to the wide-ranging opportunities that recognition of a Palestinian state brings to the table.
Even though he only has the support of about half the country, he can still make all of Israel proud by speaking as the prime minister of the entire country.
Netanyahu can’t simply repeat what he said at the UN last year. He must give us, and the world, something new, and a glimmer of hope that this war will end, our sons and daughters will come home, and we can begin to heal.