its only a dream

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-07-03/ty-article/.premium/netanyahus-nightmare-the-idf-and-the-biden-administration-ganging-up-against-him/

Analysis |

Netanyahu's Nightmare: The IDF and the Biden Administration Ganging Up Against Him

The Israeli PM's response to reports of IDF support for a Gaza truce underscores his fear of being undermined by the military and the Biden administration, as concerns over munitions and a potential Hezbollah escalation loom large

The rift between Benjamin Netanyahu and the generals of the Israel Defense Forces, which has been on public display for nearly two months now, broadened this week when the prime minister decided to respond publicly to a report in The New York Times that the generals are in favor of a truce with Hamas in Gaza.

Netanyahu's response is telling, as the Times report largely repeated what had already been reported in Haaretz and other news outlets over the past six weeks on the growing difference of opinion between Netanyahu and the military over the war's direction.

The one major difference is that while the former reports said that the IDF's support for a truce was motivated largely by the generals' belief that it was the only way to secure the release of the 120 hostages still in Gaza, according to the Times it was based on their concern over Israel's depleted stocks of munitions in advance of a possible escalation with Hezbollah on the northern border.

But Netanyahu nonetheless responded, lambasting "anonymous sources [who] briefed The New York Times," and insisting that Israel "will not capitulate to the winds of defeatism, neither in The New York Times nor anywhere else. We are inspired by the spirit of victory."

Why did Netanyahu choose to respond to this report when the argument between him and the IDF has already been reported so extensively?

It came out nearly seven weeks ago when the IDF sent forces back into the Jabalya neighborhood in Gaza City, and top generals blamed him for not agreeing to an alternative force in Gaza which would fill the vacuum left after the IDF destroyed Hamas' military structure there.

It came out again last month following the successful rescue operation of four hostages, when the IDF openly reiterated its position that while it hoped to carry out more rescue missions, the only way to rescue all 120 remaining hostages was through a deal with Hamas.

Two weeks ago the rift was once again evident in the exchange of statements in which IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, one of the officers closest to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said "the idea of destroying Hamas or making it disappear is to throw sand in the eyes of the public." To which Netanyahu responded that "the cabinet led by me has defined destroying Hamas' military and governing capabilities as one of the war's objectives, and the IDF is committed to it."

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