It is important to remember the Netanyahu government was facing a crisis of popularity and legitimacy before October 7, 2023.
At the time, it had seemed the March 25 UN Security Council resolution on Gaza would mark a turning point. The demand for a humanitarian ceasefire was not vetoed by the US — it had nixed three such resolutions till then — which signaled that Washington’s support for the Benjamin Netanyahu government was not limitless. That perception was strengthened earlier this month when President Joe Biden drew a “red line” around Rafah, saying that a ground offensive against the southernmost city in Gaza would lead to the US stopping its arms supply to Israel. But when the red line was breached, it was moved: Israel bombed a shelter for refugees, killing 45 people, on Sunday and the White House said that this did not constitute a violation. Yet, it would be a mistake for Tel Aviv to confuse this apparently long rope for impunity. The October 7 attacks by Hamas generated global sympathy for it, but the thousands of civilian deaths, and mass displacement that followed, is increasingly isolating it from the global community.
Sunday night’s attack was gruesome even in a conflict that has brutalised sensitivities. Netanyahu’s claim that the attack was a “mishap” cuts little ice. The hard, maximalist position taken by the Netanyahu government — denying a two-state solution in principle as well as refusing to pause the attacks — is isolating Israel globally. His failure to bring back the remaining hostages, or capture the Hamas leadership, has made him unpopular at home. In fact, before the current conflict, Israel was expanding its ties with moderate states in the region through the Abraham Accords. It was also an important node in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi last year. These multilateral arrangements were the first step in turning the Middle East into a zone of connectivity and trade, not conflict. Netanyahu’s actions, the expansion of the conflict to the Red Sea and with Iran, have turned the clock back.
It is important to remember the Netanyahu government was facing a crisis of popularity and legitimacy before October 7, 2023. It had lost allies and there were massive protests over the government’s attempted judicial “reforms”. The PM himself faces corruption charges. Cynics might well believe that the prolonged conflict is a bid at political self-preservation. This politics through war, however, is hurting Israel’s interests internationally. Earlier this week, Spain, Ireland and Norway recognised the Palestinian state; the International Court of Justice has admitted a case accusing Israel of genocide and there has been a request for arrest warrants for war crimes for Netanyahu and others at the International Criminal Court. Protests against the Netanyahu government’s actions in universities and beyond — including and especially in the US — mean that there is a domestic political cost to supporting Israel, especially relevant for the US in an election year. The Netanyahu government’s attacks on civilians and the refusal to allow a ceasefire for even humanitarian aid is a form of unconscionable collective punishment for October 7. It flies against the principles of justice and humanity, and harms and diminishes Israel.
