Israeli columnist calls for ‘strategic rethinking’ amid Gaza protests
As we’ve reported, large groups of Palestinians have taken to the streets of Gaza in recent days, calling for Israel devastating war to end with some criticising Hamas.
The rare display of public anger towards Hamas should cause Israelis to reflect on their perception of Gaza and their post-war vision, argues Israeli columnist Nadav Eyal.
“What will those who claimed there are no innocents in Gaza — that everyone is Hamas, that the entire Strip bears responsibility for October 7 — say now, as they rush to share videos of Palestinians demonstrating against Hamas rule?” wrote Eyal in an op-ed for the Israeli Ynet News site.
“Despite the rumours, [Palestinians in Gaza] will remain Israel’s neighbors,” Eyal added. “Israel must chart a vision for a different reality, for an alternative governance structure, for a future of some kind.”
“We must remember, military action may sometimes be necessary, but it is not an end in itself,” he said. “Those who offer no vision for the day after are offering only endless war. And endless war is, in its own way, a form of defeat.”
Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, March 26
‘No obtainable military objectives for Israel in Gaza’
Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas has told Al Jazeera he sees “no obtainable military objectives in Gaza”, where the war is being perpetuated “for Netanyahu’s political needs and necessities”.
The prime minister restarted the war in Gaza to “resume the constitutional coup he instigated in 2023,” Pinkas said.
On the military level, “if Netanyahu wants to eradicate Hamas, then Israel needs to occupy the Gaza Strip entirely,” he continued. “That comes with great cost and great responsibility.”
“I don’t see any particular well-defined military objective, unless the idea is to gradually incrementally take over the entire Gaza,” Pinkas added.
