As is so often the case when it comes to coverage of Israel and the Middle East, much of the reporting of Israel’s rejection of the Donald Trump-backed ‘roadmap’ to peace in Gaza misses the point.
Yesterday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was said to have rejected the plan put forward by the Board of Peace, telling the Israeli cabinet that, “Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” the first time he has explicitly spoke about it. “The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed. And when I say the disarming of Hamas, it means heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry.”
Benjamin Netanyahu is far from alone in his response. For what should surely be obvious reasons, Israelis do not trust Hamas
This has been reported as Netanyahu positioning himself for the upcoming October election in Israel. And it’s been widely framed, as per usual, as Netanyahu blocking the chance of peace.
This is wrong for two reasons. First, Netanyahu is far from alone in his response. For what should surely be obvious reasons, Israelis do not trust Hamas. The idea that Israel should take the word of the organisation behind the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust that it will now disarm should be self-evidently preposterous. There is no possibility in the real world of any deal progressing, let alone succeeding, which requires Israel to trust Hamas.
