Israel’s insistence on eradicating Hamas is a fool’s errand. As much as Hamas needs to go away, and even if Netanyahu does exact retribution on every single one of those involved in October 7, does he think his work will be done? Does he somehow believe that Hamas—or some offshoot—won’t rise from the ashes with a long memory for the scorched-earth Israeli response, including the death of 39,000 (or is it more like 92,000) civilians and counting?
The rest of the world doesn’t understand, Mr. Netanyahu. I suppose in part because we aren’t you, we can’t plum the depths of your personal motivations or the extent of the scars and the long memory you and fellow Jews must have of the Holocaust– never mind the long history of exile and assaults on identity that have come before and since.
From the outside looking in, though, the incessant revenge cycle is simple madness, nothing more. Winning means nothing, because it’s not really a win. It’s just a lull in further violent payback that will, with something approaching inevitability, rear its ugly head.
What happens if your no compromise stance prevails? Will everything and everybody just fall in line? Will peace finally come?
Religious wars are the worst, the height of irony and disingenuity, and deception. What kind of god condones this insanity, on an ongoing basis?
3 Cents' 