Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will invade Rafah whatever happens. Consequently, there is unlikely to be any ceasefire with Hamas and any release of the over 100 surviving hostages still held by Hamas.
Netanyahu does not want the war to end because it is widely believed that he will be thrown out of office as soon as the war is over. And both Hamas and Netanyahu do not want the war to end because it will bring the two-state solution closer.
Yet 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and over half of Gaza has been turned into rubble. However awful the attack of October 7, that is not a proportionate response to the deaths of 1,144 people.
Netanyahu has said he will not stop fighting until Hamas is defeated but the bitter truth is that Hamas cannot be defeated militarily. It can only be defeated politically by giving Palestinians their own state and therefore hope for a better future.
Israel thinks it is defending itself. Instead it is alienating its global support and imperilling its own future. Netanyahu should accept a ceasefire deal.
Quote of the day: "Luck, that's when preparation and opportunity meet."
Pierre Trudeau
The Canadian politician retired as Prime Minister on February 29, 1984
