Weekly Commentary: Netanyahu has painted himself into a corner by telling
the truth about the Philadelphi Corridor
Dr, Aaron Lerner 9 August 2024
#1 Netanyahu has painted himself into a corner by telling the truth about
the Philadelphi Corridor
Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it crystal clear that there is no
substitute for a continued presence of IDF forces on the Philadelphi
Corridor, actively engaged in the very physical activity associated with
detecting and destroying smuggling tunnels.
That's both tunnels being actively excavated AND tunnels which already
exist.
Netanyahu didn't go public on this as a negotiating tactic to raise the
value of the Philadelphi Corridor "chip." He went public because he wanted
to be painted into a corner for Israel's survival.
He is stuck with a negotiating team which seems to behave like a Wall Street
dealmaker, interested more in the commission than the quality of the deal.
And he faces a room full of senior members of the Israeli security
establishment also determined to make a deal come what may.
Are they that stupid? Or are these tic-tac-toe players engaged in
three-dimensional chess?
Ok. I will say it: There are people in the room who think that removing
Netanyahu from power is a necessary condition for Israel's survival. There
may be even some who are convinced that it is a sufficient condition.
In a way, that explanation is more comforting than the possibility that
these guys simply aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.
I appreciate that it is very hard for Netanyahu to buck all of these people,
and that these people are going to do everything in their power using every
means possible to force Netanyahu to fold.
I wouldn't be surprised if the negotiators tell their interlocutors what
they would accept if not for the instructions from Netanyahu and then return
to Jerusalem with marching orders from the White House backing them.
Netanyahu screwed up on judicial reform when he opted for the standard path
of proposing legislation which included features he planned to drop as
concessions as the laws made their way through the Knesset. That error
activated many who otherwise would have permanently remained on the
sidelines.
So Netanyahu now finds it much more painful to buck the world, the Israeli
media, and the security establishment as he insists on doing the right thing
for the nation.
The "kitchen" will be glowing with heat when the negotiators return, but
Netanyahu is the one who wanted to be in the kitchen.
#2 For the first time in his life, Netanyahu didn't kick the can down the
road
During the course of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's entire public
career, he has been a hyper-careful person who avoids serious conflict.
That's why he overruled the entire security establishment on October 8th,
2023, and stopped the jets which were already prepared to execute the plan,
which had been practiced many times, to destroy the midrange and long-range
rockets and guided missiles which Hezbollah has illegally deployed in major
population centers in Lebanon.
That is until the last assassinations.
All I can say is that both operations took place with the full knowledge and
understanding regarding what the consequences could be.
So when Netanyahu gave the green light, there was an optimistic hope that
there are things that Netanyahu and Galant and others are aware of which we
don't have the clearance or need to know to know which make it possible that
we could afford to finally address a growing threat which we have postponed
taking care of for far too long with the embarrassingly ridiculous excuse
that Hezbollah is deterred.
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Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations
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