For now, the Israeli war cabinet reflects the national consensus
The War Cabinet functionality “does not mean deleting personal accounts; they are simply suspended,” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, a nonpartisan research group. “There’s no harmony there,” he added, “just an understanding of the gravity of the moment.”
Analysts said that in many ways it is in Netanyahu’s interest to keep Israel in a state of war. The crisis allows him to avoid an investigation into the October 7 failures and the political reckoning that will most likely follow.
For now, the war cabinet has not made clear at what point it will consider Hamas defeated and dismantled, nor has it provided a clear vision of who will rule Gaza after the war. Members have stuck to general formulations, saying that Israel will have to remain in charge of security for the foreseeable future, but does not want to run daily life in the enclave.
As the war in Gaza enters its third month, pressure is growing on Israeli leaders to show results – internally, by crushing Hamas and freeing the remaining Israeli hostages; and externally, by containing rising civilian casualties and alleviating a deepening humanitarian crisis. That external pressure increased this week when President Biden, Israel’s closest ally, called the military’s bombing campaign “indiscriminate” and disagreed with Mr Netanyahu over the post-war role the Western-backed Palestinian Authority would play in Gaza. can play.
Mr Netanyahu has clashed head-on with the Biden administration around the so-called day after. The prime minister rejected a US plan for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank, to take control of Gaza after the war because, he said, the Palestinian Authority teaches its children to hate Israel, and refused the attack of October 7. and supports terrorism.
Mr Gantz and Mr Eisenkot have remained silent on this issue.
Mr. Netanyahu has charged Mr. Dermer and Tzachi Hanegbi, a loyal national security adviser, with planning Gaza’s future.
“There are two completely different world views” within the War Cabinet on how to deal with the aftermath, Ms. Livni said, noting that Mr. Gantz and his allies do not share the American vision of a peace process that leads to some version of a Palestinian country have excluded. stands.
At some point, because of the war, or because of disagreements over the fate of Gaza, the war cabinet is likely to crack. And then Israel will be at war with itself again.