The consequences of the Gaza war for the Zionists: from internal collapse to global scandal.
The Israeli war against Gaza has ended in a ceasefire after 15 months. In addition to the numerous consequences it has had for Gaza and the Hamas movement, this war has also had various consequences for the Israeli regime. This article examines some of the political consequences of this war for the Israeli regime.
1. Domestic political consequences
One of the most important political consequences of the ceasefire in Gaza for the Israeli regime is that the Netanyahu cabinet has become more fragile than before because some ministers resigned from the cabinet in opposition to the ceasefire. People such as Itamar Ben-Guer believe that the ceasefire means Israel’s defeat and Hamas’ victory in this war. In this regard, Itamar Ben-Guer, Yitzhak Wasserlauf and Amihai Eliyahu, three ministers from the “Otzma Yehudit” (Jewish Power) party, have officially left their jobs and left Netanyahu’s cabinet.
Ben-Governor also tried to convince Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to resign with him, but Smotrich only opposed it during a cabinet vote. In addition, Chief of Staff of the Israeli army Herzliya Halevi resigned from his post, announcing that his resignation would take effect next March. Some sources also reported that the head of the Shin Bet would resign in the near future.
However, it can be said that the most important political consequence of the ceasefire in Gaza is the split in the country’s ruling coalition. Netanyahu managed to form a cabinet in January 2022 in a coalition with extremists such as Ben-Governor and Smotrich, but now his two main allies in the cabinet are among the main opponents of the ceasefire. Smotrich considers this agreement the worst security-military decision in the history of the Israeli regime. Smotrich and Ben-Governor’s vote base has also decreased in the occupied territories.
In the latest reliable polls in occupied Palestine, the “Religious Zionism” party, led by Smotrich, failed to win the 3.25% threshold and will not be able to win any seats in the Knesset. Given these circumstances, it can be expected that Netanyahu’s cabinet will collapse in the coming months and the Tel Aviv regime will once again find itself in the vicious circle of early parliamentary elections.
2. Political consequences at the regional level
The Gaza war has also had important consequences for the Zionist regime at the regional level. The most important of these consequences was the halt in the process of normalizing the Zionist regime’s relations with Arab countries. One of Benjamin Netanyahu’s hopes and goals after re-forming the cabinet in January 2022 was to expand the normalization of relations with Arab countries. His main focus was also on normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia. However, Netanyahu has not traveled to any Arab capital in the past 15 months. Although normalization of relations with other Arab countries has not been ruled out, it is more difficult than in the past because Saudi Arabia has conditioned normalization on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, an issue that Netanyahu and his cabinet members do not accept.
In addition, the Gaza war has destroyed the image that the Zionist regime, the UAE, and Bahrain sought to create of this regime. The UAE and Bahrain, which normalized relations with the Zionist regime in September 2020, were trying to portray that normalization would create regional peace and stability, and that Tel Aviv was also seeking to expand peace and stability in the region. Now, public opinion in no Arab country accepts such an image, and the only image it has of the Zionist regime is the genocide of the people of Gaza, especially women and children. This is while regional support for Palestine has increased.
3. Political consequences at the global level
Undoubtedly, one of the most important political consequences of the Gaza war for the Zionist regime is the global level. These consequences can be expressed in the following axes:
Destroying the image of the Zionist regime
Before the Gaza war, the Zionist regime, with the support of the West and the dominant global media, tried to present a moral image of itself to the world. In Gaza, the Zionist regime committed all the crimes stipulated in the statutes of international legal treaties and international legal conventions and covenants. These crimes were so obvious, bitter, and painful that Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, repeatedly declared that the events in Gaza were genocide and the complete collapse of humanity. The demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people against the Zionist regime in the heart of Europe and in the United States are a clear example of the fact that the alleged image and credibility of this regime on a global level has been destroyed.
Gideon Sa’ar, the Foreign Minister of the Zionist regime, acknowledging the increasing global isolation of the occupying regime, called for an end to efforts to isolate and prosecute the Zionist regime on the international stage. Essentially, one of the reasons why many inside the occupied territories believe that the Zionist regime has suffered a major defeat in the war, despite the claims of Netanyahu and his cabinet members about winning the Gaza war, is related to the increasing isolation and damage to the regime’s image on the global level.
Criminalization of the case of the crimes of the Zionist regime
Another important political consequence of the Gaza war for the Zionist regime on the global level is that the case of crimes of this regime has become a criminal case. The International Criminal Court, investigating the crimes of the Zionist regime against the people of Gaza, has issued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister, and U. A. Gallant, former Minister of War of the Zionist regime. Even if this warrant is not implemented in light of the support of the United States and the threats of countries by Washington, it will still cause psychological and emotional pressure and a sense of insecurity for the Zionist military; as has already happened.