JERUSALEM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pursuing an "eternal war" in the Gaza Strip driven by personal interests, particularly to maintain his political survival, according to an Israeli military analyst.

“An eternal war does in fact serve Netanyahu's personal interests, namely evading the three dangers threatening his continued rule: an early election, the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to investigate the failures that enabled the October 7 massacre, and the start of his testimony in his criminal trial at the beginning of next month,” Amos Harel said in an opinion to Israeli daily Haaretz.

“Most of the military threat posed to the communities of the western Negev by Hamas personnel in the Gaza Strip has been nullified at this stage,” he said, adding that “Hezbollah's military capabilities have also been much diminished.”

Harel argued that further improvements in military outcomes “will depend on political diplomacy.”

However, the Israeli journalist said the government has no intention of providing a diplomatic horizon. “As far as the government is concerned, there will be no deal in Gaza,” he noted.

“The prospects are better in Lebanon, in part because the settlement in question is simpler there. However, the continuation of the war, especially in Gaza, serves the political survival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” the analyst added.

In this context, Harel cited Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror, one of Netanyahu's closest advisers, who said a hostage deal will allow Hamas to continue ruling in Gaza, and therefore it cannot be carried out.

“Israel will preserve a presence in the Strip even after the war ends,” Amidror said in a radio interview this week.

The analyst further suggested that Netanyahu might consider US President-elect Donald Trump an opportunity to ease the pressure from the current Biden administration, enabling Israel to push forward with more ambitious objectives, including the permanent occupation of parts of Gaza, the rebuilding of settlements in the region, and possibly the annexation of the West Bank.

Regional tension has escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,700 people, mostly women and children, since last year.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of the Gaza war.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi