[Netanyahu with Joe Biden: Though blindly supported by the United States, United Kingdom and some of their allies in West, Netanyahu’s policies are at the receiving end at the international level too.]
Tel Aviv (Occupied Palestine): In probably one of its fieriest criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the ongoing military escalation in the Middle East, Haaretz, Israel’s leading newspaper, called him a “corrupt criminal defendant” and “gang leader”.
Haaretz criticised Netanyahu’s policies even as Israel is trying to portray a united face against the backdrop of Hamas’s ‘Operation al Aqsa Storm’ that left more than 1,300 people dead and over 2,000 others injured on October 07, 2023.
The brutal attack by Hamas, for long accused of being Netanyahu’s protégé, which is being condemned by the people across the world, once again came at the time when the Israeli Prime Minister and his government were battling a series of protests, especially against Netanyahu's so-called “judicial reform”.
Netanyahu’s critics hence are sceptical about the exact motives behind the Hamas attacks, though the Palestinian Resistance Group claimed its attacks were response of the continuous targeting of Palestinians by Israeli troops, provocation by illegal settlers, and Netanyahu himself who waved what he called a “new map of Middle East” erasing the Palestinian territories.
Netanyahu ordered airstrikes and bombing of Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks that so far killed more than 2,300 people and over 9,700 injured.
After the round-clock bombings of Gaza since October 07, Netanyahu, is now considering, ground attack on Gaza Strip and its invasion.
Haaretz however is of the view that Netanyahu, a “corrupt criminal defendant”, is pushing Israel into a “directionless war”.
“Israel is headed by a corrupt criminal defendant. And now, he is leading the country into a war in which nobody even knows the precise goals, much less the outcome”, Zvi Bar'el wrote in an article published by Haaretz on Wednesday October 11, 2023.
Zvi Bar'el – the Middle Eastern affairs analyst and a columnist is member of the Editorial Board of Haaretz, the longest running newspaper in Israel.
In his article, Zvi Bar'el also called Netanyahu a “gang leader who can't go on serving as Israel's Prime Minister”.
In another equally harsh article published by Haaretz on October 13, 2023, Alon Pinkas - a former diplomat, who served as Israel’s Consul General to New York and as Foreign Policy Adviser to multiple foreign and prime ministers in Israel, accused Netanyahu of putting the blame of his failures on others.
“…. Benjamin Netanyahu took his zero-responsibility-always-share-the-blame attitude to a new level by forming a “temporary war cabinet.” In any other case it would be the right thing to do - for him, it's just another way to make sure there is someone else to blame for the Gaza war failures”, Alon Pinkas wrote in the article titled “Netanyahu Is on Brand: No Responsibility, No Accountability, No Remorse”.
Haaretz is not alone in criticising Benjamin Netyahu, who perhaps thought the Hamas attacks and his government's response to it will divert the attention from the huge anger against his policies and the vociferous demand for his resignation from the top post.
“I called on the opposition not to enter the government with Netanyahu, but to demand his resignation”, former Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon was quoted by Hebrew media. “He was warned several times, he did not let the Chief of Staff speak to the cabinet. There is no trust in him. How can you lead a people to war like this?” he asked. “Every hour he remains in office is a detriment to the country”, he said three days ago.
“I called on the opposition not to enter the government with Netanyahu, but to demand his resignation”, former Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon was quoted by Hebrew media.
“He was warned several times, he did not let the Chief of Staff speak to the cabinet. There is no trust in him. How can you lead a people to war like this?” he asked.
“Every hour he remains in office is a detriment to the country”, he said three days ago.
In a further blow to the longest serving Israeli Prime Minister, 4 out of 5 Jewish Israelis, in a survey conducted by The Jerusalem Post, believe that Netanyahu and his government are to blame for last week's Hamas attack, and said he must quit the office.
Though blindly supported by the United States, United Kingdom and some of their allies in West, Netanyahu’s policies are at the receiving end at the international level too.
"Israel's actions have gone beyond the scope of self-defense," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Sunday October 15 commenting on its round-the-clock bombing of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) razing to grounds hundreds of residential buildings, dozens of schools, mosques and also hospitals. "It should listen earnestly to the calls of the international community and the UN Secretary General, and cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza," Wang Yi said in the strongest stance China has expressed so far on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
"Israel's actions have gone beyond the scope of self-defense," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Sunday October 15 commenting on its round-the-clock bombing of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) razing to grounds hundreds of residential buildings, dozens of schools, mosques and also hospitals.
"It should listen earnestly to the calls of the international community and the UN Secretary General, and cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza," Wang Yi said in the strongest stance China has expressed so far on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Wang's remarks, made on a call to his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Saturday, came as Israel appeared poised for a ground offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza.
Wang Yi also said in a separate call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Saturday that Washington should "play a constructive and responsible role" in the conflict, and urged "the convening of an international peace meeting as soon as possible to promote the reaching of broad consensus".
Criticising Netanyahu’s policies, Croatian President Zoran Milanović had two days ago said that Israel has lost his sympathies because of its reprisal actions in Gaza over the Hamas attacks.
“I condemned [Hamas’] murders, I even expressed disgust and abhorrence, but the right to defense does not include the right to revenge and the killing of civilians,” the Croatian President said Thursday.
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