Q&A: The Collapse of Hamas
The Collapse of Hamas
Question
How do you assess the conduct of the war so far? In terms of the goals Israel set for itself, is it acting correctly in your view regarding the issue of bringing back the hostages? And do you think Netanyahu and his partners are justified in insisting on not ending the war? (Regardless of what motives they have for doing so.)
Answer
I don’t know. I don’t know what the plan is, so it’s hard to judge. Somehow I get the impression that they’re operating too gently and with too little force. But I’m not familiar with the constraints. The insistence on not ending the war seems very justified to me, but again, that’s being said without the relevant data. So in my view as well, there is no basis whatsoever for the claim that this is being done for ulterior motives.
Israelis are convinced that if the war goes on just a little longer, we’ll win and be able to live in peace for another 50 years. Nonsense. As long as the Palestinians are here, there will be problems. The only solution is to manage the conflict, not solve it. And regarding continuing the war: a country that is fighting all the time, and especially Israel, which isn’t all that strong, is headed for failure and ruin. I don’t know what people want. I’d rather live with a normal economy and reasonable foreign relations, alongside threats, than kill a few more little Hamas monkeys.