Description
Hamas wanted to create havoc and lure Israel into a costly military confrontation and Israel “militarily cannot win without making a political concession or strategic concession to the Palestinians,” he said, adding: “Whether to Hamas or to the Palestinian Authority, it doesn’t really matter.”In doing so, Krieg said Hamas had “undermined” US-led normalisation talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Just as significantly, it had also “derailed the status quo” in Gaza of nearly 20 years under several Israeli administrations led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which had tried to “keep everyone in check in Gaza” while not making any fundamental changes to the status quos of “occupation and not giving the Palestinians land”.
Meanwhile, the slaughter of thousands of Palestinian innocents has attracted “global public opinion and outrage, also triggering even the closest allies of Israel to comment and potentially put pressure on Israel to change its ways”.
“We now have a revamped commitment by all European countries and the United States to the two-state solution” to the 75-year conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Krieg said.
“For now it’s just rhetoric, but overall this increases pressure” on Israel to make considerable concessions and potentially commit to peace talks again, and to a strategic framework – something which he said would require the departure of Netanyahu and his radical right-wing allies from power.
In stark contrast, Krieg said Israel had so far achieved “some minor military objectives, but the hard part of the fighting in Gaza City hasn’t started yet”.
While the hostage deal represents the achievement of a major objective for Israel, it “doesn’t address the issue of eradicating and undermining Hamas”, Krieg noted.
| Period | 24 Nov 2023 |
|---|---|
| Held at | South China Morning Post, Hong Kong |
Keywords
- Israel
- Gaza
- Hamas