What Is Netanyahu’s Goal In These Wars?

I have been a long-term supporter of Israel. I have been to the country many times.  The Israeli people have been good to me. I have many Israeli friends. I was rocketed by Hamas in 2014 in Sderot on the Gaza border; I saw the targeting of civilians by Hamas with my own eyes a decade ago. I have covered the children of Ashkelon dodging Katusha rockets for fifteen years, hiding in the bathroom during the barrage with their art teacher.

However, I must say I am uncomfortable with what I am hearing coming out of the Israeli government during the last few months. It is disturbing.

The Netanyahu government seems to be enabling some very extreme voices. I’d like to understand what the long-term aims are of the current administration in Jerusalem for the region.

Some recent comments by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, “We are talking about our targets: 250,000 leave Gaza in the first year. It is possible. One million leave Gaza within three years. Within seven years, we can reach almost 1.9 million who will leave Gaza.

“A thousand Lebanese mothers may cry, but not a single Israeli mother.

“I very, very much hope that Netanyahu will stand firm against Trump. He stood firm against Obama, he stood firm against other presidents, he stood firm against Biden, and he can stand firm against Trump.

“I want to kill you. I want to execute you,” when talking to Hamas prisoners.

Some recent comments by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, “The thorough cleansing that we are carrying out now in southern Lebanon is unprecedented. They have nowhere to return to. Look at how it looks. And by the way, the world isn’t stopping us.

“There was very great divine assistance because, during the war, the world’s attention was on Gaza and Lebanon, so overall we were able to do things quietly. In March, we brought a cabinet decision on 34 settlements [in West Bank], and the condemnations we received were roughly what we used to get in the past for 34 housing units.”

Are the Israeli people behind these statements? I’d like to know.

I believe this type of rhetoric, along with Netanyahu’s wars in Gaza and Iran, will likely cause multi-generational damage to Israel’s standing worldwide and with younger Americans in particular.

I am in touch with many different groups of Americans across the fruited plains. I can tell you the above statements are not going over well with Generation Z, or anyone under 30. Does Israel care about this voting block in America?

I fear the leftist opposition in the United States has used comments like those above by Israeli politicians to drive a wedge right through and divide the Trump coalition.  It has been very effective in splitting off many younger voters, as evidenced by the Ed Sheeran/Macklemore controversy.

Whether the leftist narrative is true or not, we must face that it has worked.

Israel’s attempt to blame everything on Qatar simply is not working.  Its $1 billion hasbara campaign to scapegoat Qatar for Netanyahu’s failures with Hamas has had limited success, and according to Haaretz was even opposed by many in his own government. It looks like blame shifting.

Netanyahu seems to believe that his political survival depends on continued conflict and instability. Without war and external enemies, he would face greater scrutiny over his own conduct. But sustaining this chaos is doing long-term damage to Israel’s global standing.

The Israeli people deserve to live in peace and security. They deserve to be free of the forever wars, as do the civilian populations surrounding Israel.

By the way, Americans deserve to live in peace and security as well. That means not being deployed in the future again to the Middle East when the Iran war is finally won.

Yes, I was against the war before it was launched; however, now that we are in it, I want a good outcome for my children and grandchildren’s future.

That means an American victory.

I’m sure many Israelis feel the same way —now that we are in it, we want a complete victory.

But, at what price for the future? And, what does a complete victory look like?