The Israeli left is determined to bring down Prime Minister Netanyahu, and is pressuring him, for the sake of a hostage deal with Hamas, to agree to give up the IDF’s control of the Philadelphi Corridor. Instead, the leftists would have Israel rely on the use of electronic sensors along the Corridor, and depend as well on Egyptians stationed at the Egypt-Gaza border to prevent arms smuggling. More on this can be found here: “The Oslo effect,” by Melanie Phillips, JNS, September 5, 2024:
…Other arguments [on why Israel can give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor] have included getting Egypt to safeguard Philadelphi against Hamas and using electronic sensors to monitor it.
This is all utterly delusional. For two decades, Egypt was complicit in the construction and use of the Philadelphi tunnels; entrusting it with Israel’s security would be to put the fox in charge of the henhouse. Israeli reliance on electronic sensors was one of the reasons the Oct. 7 pogrom happened.
As for the IDF returning to the corridor after it pulled out, the same argument was used by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the 2005 disengagement from Gaza when he pulled Israel out of Philadelphi—the issue over which Netanyahu resigned from that government. Just as international pressure meant the IDF never went back in despite the subsequent barrages from Gaza, so a return to the corridor would now be a total non-starter.
Despite the thousands on the streets, most Israelis get this. In one opinion poll, 79% agreed that Israel needed to control Philadelphi permanently to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt to Gaza. When asked more emotively whether Israel should control Philadelphi “even at the expense of a hostage deal,” more respondents said it should than those who balked at preventing a hostage deal.
Gantz, Eizenkot and Gallant are part of a military and security establishment whose morally and intellectually bankrupt “conceptziya” brought about the Oct. 7 catastrophe in the first place.
Netanyahu, too, was part of that same establishment and in due course must be held to account for the heavy responsibility he bears.
However, those who aren’t blinded by a pathological hatred of him can see that he is holding off intense American pressure to pull out of Philadelphi, just as they can also see that America itself bears a significant measure of responsibility for the hostages’ fate.
The Biden administration forced Israel to proceed in Gaza far more slowly than the IDF judged necessary to defeat Hamas and thus save the hostages. Worse, for three months, the administration stopped Israel from entering Rafah—below which the six hostages were murdered last week. If Israel had been free to proceed at its own pace, those six captives and many others might have been saved….
Because the Israeli government listened to the Americans, it went gradually, city by city, north to south, in Gaza, when it ought to have attacked everywhere all at once, giving Hamas fighters no time to move from one city that was being hit to another where its operatives could be safe. And that three-month delay by the IDF in entering Rafah meant that Hamas had a long time both to prepare to defend against the onslaught, and to hide both its ownfighters and the hostages in the tunnels. Had the IDF swiftly swooped into Rafah, it might have been able to save many of those hostages, including the six whose bodies were recently found in a tunnel under that city.
The first such error was the 1993 Oslo Accords, which gave the Palestinians political power and status—with the Americans even training their police—on the assumption that they intended to live in peace alongside Israel.
Arafat never intended to honor his commitments under the Oslo Accords. He continued to have the PLO launch terror attacks against Israeli civilians. And in 2000, he rejected outright a generous territorial settlement that was offered to him by Israel’s then-Prime Minister, Ehud Barak. In the same year, he ignored the peace promises made by the Palestinians the Oslo Accords and started the Second Intifada, in which 1000 Israelis were killed and many thousands wounded, during the five years (2000-2005) of its existence.
The left’s attempt to “weaponize the hostages” by attacking Netanyahu for continuing to insist on the IDF’s control of the Philadelphi Corridor will not work. 79% of the Israeli public, when asked, said that they wanted Israel to hold onto the Corridor, and even when a different question is asked — “would you want to hold onto the Corridor even if it prevented a deal for the return of the hostages” — a majority of Israelis still answer yes. The left’s war on Netanyahu will likely not succeed; his refusal to yield to pressure from both the Americans and Hamas will eventually be appreciated, and the left’s attacks on him will come to naught. But should the Israeli left and the Biden-Harris administration somehow manage to force Netanyahu to yield on the Philadelphi Corridor “for the sake of the hostages,” the renewal of arms smuggling by Hamas, and the use of those arms to deadly effect on Israeli targets, will be correctly blamed on the left which, this time, after the Oslo Accords disaster, will not be able to recover.
SC says
If the Left take over Israel will cease to exist within months. Islam is just one of the Lefts tools for world domination.
James Hoagland says
You invert the relationship between the left and Islam.While world domination by the left goes back to Marx and the birth of the communist movement their main stand was in the Third International. Which is the essence of Globalism. But this is never mind because the quest for world domination by Islam usurps the left. The fanaticism of Islam produces an evil that is beyond communism. But this is academic. Evil is evil and both of these movements are anti-life and anti-God. That is their downfall.
Karen Ann Dowden says
Very well said.
OLD GUY says
TRUE.
Ben says
Sinwar (the mastermind behind the oct 7 attacks) was released as part of the Shalit deal and look how that turned out. There should be NO deal where terrorists with blood on their hands are released in exchange for hostages because that will only lead to more hostage takings, terror attacks and bloodshed in the future. That’s something those protesting for a deal at any cost are too stupid to understand.
James Hoagland says
Where is Sinwar now? No deals is clear and a solid majority of citizens agree with this understanding. Question is what to do with the many prisoners from this war? For me they should be executed. In my schooling they get a hearing from a military tribunal and sentenced to death. In time of war this is by firing squad or hanging.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I wonder if he’s holed up in a tunnel on the Egyptian side, since on the Gaza side, the Israelis seem to have completed their operation (which is why they could turn so comprehensively towards Hizbullah). Somehow, he has to make it out of Egypt to Qatar w/o embarrassing Cairo, which has not been supportive of Israel at all, despite its own jihad against the muslim brotherhood – the parent organization of Hamas, but so far, it hasn’t happened
At some point – maybe in 2025, Israel should start looking at Qatar. If Trump is elected, pressure should be put on Qatar to end its support to the muslim brotherhood, or renew the opposition to it that it got from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrein and the Emirates
Ben says
Terrorists shouldn’t be captured alive and if there is a military need to do that in order to extract intel from them by whatever means necessary then they should be excecuted as soon as they are no longer of use. The West has become far too soft and has forgotten how to wage a real war with all that leftard and idiotic BS about ‘human rights’ and ‘rules of war.’ There are no rules in war. There’s only winning or losing and the ends justify the means.
Troybeam says
It was the leftist government that gave the OK for Hamas workers to come into Israel, it was the left that help Hamas on Oct.7, 2023 on the attack on Israel’s soil so why would these idiots go against Netanyahu for protecting the nation and getting rid of the very beings that planned and carried out one of the worst attacks against the nation.
How stupid can you be to go against a man who protects the very nation you idiots live in, apparently very stupid.
James Hoagland says
Netanyahu was part of the failure of October 7. He may get mixed reviews because of his stance against the leftist Democrat Party who stole the last election if the US but this doesn’t excuse his culpability for Oct. 7. Socialism is a mental disease. No matter if it is communists or fascists in nature. Netanyahu is not popular in my house but he is better than Gantz, Eizenkot, or Lapid by a long shot.
Troybeam says
How was he part of the Oct.7 attack, explain please.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I do think that in future, a post mortem of October 7th is merited. However, the Leftist war on Netanyahu is that of cowards who want Israel to make the same sort of idiotic concessions to jihadists that they used to do in the past – releasing hundreds of live jihadists for a few Israeli bodies. Don’t get duped by street protests: the bulk of Israelis since October 7th support Likud, regardless of what they may think about Bibi
One thing to note is that the bulk of the October 7th victims, whether slain or hostages, were Israeli peaceniks, like people who wanted to work together w/ Gazans to help improve their lives, and so on. In fact, it was their trust that gave so many muslims the intel to know how to enter their premises and hunt them down
As a result, the October 7th massacres changed the view of many Israeli peaceniks in a way that nothing else could: it’s like the proverbial soft-on-crime advocate who becomes a lock-em-up guy once s/he actually gets attacked by a thug. As it is, Israel’s Labour Party went extinct after all the attrition wars on Israel by Hamas and Hizbullah, and now, it could be that even more Israelis would turn hardline anti-jihadist
gravenimage says
No one can be omniscient. The fact that he wasn’t doesn’t make Netanyahu part of the Jihad terror attack.
Rick Gordon says
The Israeli left ought to just ask Joe Biden and his minions how the US southern and northern borders are working out with electronic surveillance and ‘asking nicely’ to the Mexican government. I’m sure they will support a lack of Israeli presence on the Egyptian border.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
While Kamala is busy appeasing muslims in Michigan, the Israeli Left includes a muslim Arab group called the “Joint List”. In Kamala’s case, she can let her party go whole hog anti-Semitic, but she’ll still have the bulk of her Gentile support intact. Only thing she’ll lose is Jewish donors
But in the case of the Israeli Left, if they try to appease the Joint List, which is essentially Fatah w/o the terrorism, the only support they will have is the muslim support. That may help make the difference in close contests, but if the entire Jewish population is polarized against them, it’ll be a washout. Maybe the Israeli Left should look at what happened to Labour and draw its lessons accordingly
ruth says
if any othe Israeli leader had been scrutinized as Israel’s left has done with Netanyahu, flaws would have emerged too.
I agree with every word of this article.
Netanyahu will have to answer for October 7 but he is handling the war well, even with one hand tied behind his back.
Stive says
Am not sure netanyahu was in the loop of Oct 7 attacks.we now know these military chiefs hid information from him. At least 4 hours, anyway.
The old left still put security above leftist dogma. The current left puts their dogma above security.
Netanyahu is guilty of something big off the radar instead. Netanyahu was a key player of putting experimental German juice into Jews. He was needed by bourla and fauci & yes, trump as the world seeing a Jewish leader poking the Jews with German juice helped the world think it must be safe. He like trump are still proud of this. No, I’d never vote for a kamel but not a mengele trump and others either.
I will not choose to jump into the fire nor the frying pan.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Hopefully, hunting down that snake Nasrallah should give Netanyahu a respite. And if he can last until November 5th, when hopefully Trump prevails, he can breathe easy once that’s done
James Lincoln says
Interestingly, Israel – fighting for its life – has to also contend with its own leftists.
gravenimage says
Sadly true, James.
gravenimage says
The Israeli Left’s War On Netanyahu
…………………………………………
Suicidal madness.
Jamie James says
Throughout the world the left seem to embrace Islam, surely anyone in their right mind would hate to live under Islamic rule. Even the lefties must realise how their rights will disappear under Islam because there is only one law under sharia. Boy, we have a lot of mental people running around on our planet.
Max Leibenson says
Israeli’s left is delusional. They are permeated by the hatred to Netanyahu. They are sponsored by affluent Democrat Jewish donors, who are mostly secular, detached from their roots, and, paradoxically, antisemitic.