Changing the equation of the Gaza war: Why was the US forced to negotiate with Hamas?
Despite the passage of more than a year and seven months since the start of the Gaza War, and while the Zionist regime and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to achieve war goals in Gaza within a short period, claiming that they would destroy the Hamas movement and that all Israeli prisoners would return from Gaza by military force, they have not been able to free a single one of their prisoners through military operations, and each time the Zionists’ efforts to find the location of their prisoners and free them have failed or resulted in the deaths of these prisoners.
Following the resumption of the brutal war of the Zionist regime against the Gaza Strip since March and the breakdown of the prisoner exchange process, while 59 Israeli prisoners, both dead and alive, are still being held captive by the resistance, domestic and foreign pressure, especially from the families of the Zionist prisoners, against Netanyahu, his cabinet, and the regime’s army is increasing every day. Over the past month, a great wave of disobedience and protest has begun in the army, security institutions, and other sensitive institutions of Zionist society against the continuation of the attrition war in Gaza, which is endangering the lives of prisoners.
The shock of the Hamas-US negotiations to the Zionists
Amid the increasing pressure on Netanyahu, and while most Israelis agree that he has sacrificed the lives of Israeli prisoners for his own personal and political interests, and that the continuation of the war in Gaza is only to serve Netanyahu’s goals, the announcement of a new round of direct negotiations between Hamas and the US and the agreement between the two sides to release Eidan Alexander, a prisoner with dual American-Israeli citizenship, greatly angered the Zionists, who were disappointed with the release of the remaining Israeli prisoners in Gaza, because they concluded that the war would continue according to Netanyahu’s interests and that Trump only cares about the lives of prisoners who have American citizenship. This means that the other prisoners in Gaza have been left to their own devices and are at risk of death at any moment, under the siege and heavy bombardment of the Israeli army against this strip.
Zionist writer Raanan Shaked stated in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that the agreement between Hamas and Washington carries the message that if you only have Israeli citizenship, you should not expect anything from your cabinet.
He added: “This means that if you are captured and do not have American citizenship, especially during the Netanyahu cabinet, you should die. This is not just my personal opinion, but something that the US president made clear.”
Gadi Eisenkot, a retired general in the Israeli army and a member of the Knesset of the regime, also strongly attacked Netanyahu and his cabinet in this regard, saying that instead of making decisive decisions, the cabinet hides behind a narrative that the Hamas-US agreement for the release of Aidan Alexander was made without Israel’s knowledge. This behavior is a clear sign of Israel’s weakness.