In the latest sign of growing tensions between the military and the Israeli government, former Spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, Lt Col. Peter Lerner, has sharply criticized Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war against Hamas.
Lerner, who served in the IDF for more than 25 years – most recently as a spokesman during the war, before stepping down last months, stated that while speaking with the world’s media on behalf of the military, he came to realize the “loss of international trust in Israel and the government’s failure to maintain widespread support for the war against Hamas over time.”
Speaking in an interview, Lerner noted, “Netanyahu promised a complete victory over Hamas but in the international arena he and his government led us to defeat.”
He disclosed that in the early days of the conflict, following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, “There was a clear understanding that Hamas is an evil and dangerous organization, and that Israel must act against it.”
He added that, that goodwill quickly eroded, partly because of the inevitable suffering of Palestinian civilians as the IDF began the ground invasion of Gaza.
Lerner blamed the government, saying “there is no political strategy for the war, even after nine months in which we are fighting on two fronts.”
Lerner was also critical of Ministers, who he said, had reduced the legitimacy of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Separately, EU foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell and European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic expressed their “concern” over Israeli army orders to evacuate more than 250,000 Palestinians from eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
“This evacuation decision is certain to worsen overcrowding and cause severe shortages in the already overwhelmed remaining hospitals, at a time when access to emergency medical care is critical,” the two wrote in a joint statement, adding that forced evacuations are creating “a humanitarian crisis within the crisis.”
“A ceasefire is all the more important now, and would make possible a surge of humanitarian assistance to Gaza as well as the release of all hostages,” they said.
US ‘Fed Up’ With Netanyahu’s Manoeuvring And Deception
According to Hassan Barari, an international affairs professor at Qatar University, Hamas and Israel are closer than ever to a ceasefire agreement, and that President Joe Biden’s administration wants to apply pressure to keep up the momentum.
“I think the American administration is fed up with Netanyahu’s manoeuvring and deceptions over the last two months. And this is true, especially when Hamas has agreed and has responded in a positive way to the American guideline and framework.”
Hassan Barari
Barari added that the questions remain over whether Israel is negotiating in good faith.
He noted that the Israeli government itself is divided within its ranks between those who actually support a truce and those who are adamantly opposed to it because they want to continue the war.
“Those people, especially the right-wing people like [Finance Minister] Smotrich and [National Security Minister] Ben-Gvir, strongly believe that they can restore occupation of Gaza in order to pave the way for something similar [to] the West Bank,” he said.
“Netanyahu needs to probably leave his position as a fence-sitter and choose whether he wants to [be] ultranational Zionist or he wants to serve the interests of Israel. And those interests of Israel require the Palestinian state and require some sort of agreement with the Palestinians.”
Hassan Barari
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