29 May 2024; MEMO: Israel has lost its war on the besieged Gaza Strip and failed to achieve its declared goals of the war, including eliminating Hamas and returning all the hostages, the Jerusalem Post has said in a damning critique of the occupation state’s far-right government.
In an article published on Tuesday, the newspaper said that even seizing and occupying the city of Rafah, which, it claimed, “hides dozens of huge tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle weapons, ammunition, missiles and vehicles,” will not achieve these goals.
It added that Hamas won on 7 October, when its fighters embarrassed the much-vaunted Israeli military establishment, invaded military bases, killed many Israelis and then returned to Gaza with the hostages. The movement, it pointed out, continues to be a force in Gaza, despite the destruction caused by the Israeli army.
According to Israel’s biggest circulation English-language daily — which was established in 1932 as the Palestine Post, only changing its name in 1950 — the most significant victory achieved by Hamas has been to put the Palestinians back on the international agenda after years of neglect; making Israel a pariah in the world again; and endangering the grand US plan of forging an alliance between Israel and so-called “moderate” Arab nations.
“Does it make sense for Israel to continue pressing for the achievement of its unachievable goals? Or should it shift gears and work toward something attainable?” the newspaper asked. “If the answer is the latter, then Israel needs new leadership.”
It argued that under the current government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trapped by the demands of the most extreme elements in his cabinet, who take the most hawkish stands on everything, foreign and domestic, and likely don’t want an end to the war. “New Israeli leadership must adopt a practical plan of action to salvage as much as possible from the Gaza war wreckage and rehabilitate Israel’s image and place in the world.”
