TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Netanyahu in a tussle, not only for battleground victory but optics
By launching a military retaliation against Hamas, Netanyahu has put himself between a rock and a hard place in both the Middle East and the international community.
Change Size
Palestinian people salvage belongings on Oct. 8, 2023 from a building that collapsed during an Israeli air strike on Gaza City. (AFP)
W
hile many will analyze the raging conflict between Palestine and Israel through the lens of how the two states will be entwined in a deadly spiral of violence, with a colossal loss of lives expected in Gaza, the battle of optics is now underway.
No one has a higher incentive to engage in this particular battle than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Why?
On the first day of the attack by Hamas against Israeli border guards and settlers, the Indonesia Hospital, Palestine was bombed in Gaza. This happened with no mention of any casualties as yet. Surely, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, cannot help but be outraged.
Moreover, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has for the past 20 months been embroiled in numerous political scandals, even allegations of corruption verging on trying to usurp the authority of the Israeli Supreme Court, must restore his domestic standing immediately. Without this, he will be seen as a failed prime minister.
The best way for Netanyahu to strengthen his support in Israel would be to latch on to this armed conflict with Hamas to unite all of Israel to support the retaliation of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Beyond that, due to the scale and size of the Hamas attacks, whereby more than 5,000 projectiles were lobbed into Israel on the first day of the militant group’s offensive on Oct. 7, Netanyahu and his government has a lot to explain in light of the massive intelligence failure. Not doing so will result in his government’s collapse after the dust settles over the Israeli military assault.
This is because while there seems to be solidarity in Israel for now, under the bated breath of many Israelis, Netanyahu has long been blamed for turning the country into more of a right-wing polity than at any point since independence in 1948. This sore point began with Netanyahu forming a coalition government with the inclusion of the extremist Jewish National Front.
