When the prime minister says "no" to the US president who demands that he agree to a ceasefire of several months, effectively stopping the war, and when the prime minister insists (at least for now) that the ceasefire will not last more than six weeks – he represents the overwhelming majority of Israeli citizens, almost all of us.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
When Joe Biden "loses his temper" and consequently uses profanity against Benjamin Netanyahu, he is effectively maligning most Israeli citizens – those who are not willing to have this war end without a crushing defeat of Hamas (not just militarily), including in Rafah and the center of the Gaza Strip. Nor are they willing to have the war without the return of the captives – all of them. In this case, Netanyahu's position is spot-on; he is absolutely right, and he is not the only one. Minister Gadi Eizenkot and Benny Gantz are in total lockstep with him.
Even when Netanyahu says "no" to a Palestinian state, he represents the position of the majority of Israel's citizens, who understand exactly who the new-old partner the Americans have in mind for us: a state entity whose residents would support terror regardless of its leadership; they support our massacre and want our destruction and elimination. With such people, no agreements can be made, neither temporary nor permanent, especially when it comes to Judea and Samaria – a central part of our national and historical identity and homeland, regions where half a million Jews already live in an irreversible settlement reality.
President Biden is a friend. Some of his administration officials, including Secretary of State Blinken, are less friendly. The president has domestic political constraints in the US, vis-à-vis the progressive wing of his party and Muslim voters. This has impacted his posture toward Israel.
Should we take Biden's internal travails into account? The answer is in the question itself: Israel is already taking this into account, in its completely irrational decision to transfer humanitarian aid, food, and fuel into the Gaza Strip
It has done so even though this prolongs the war, boosts Hamas' military endurance, creates more serious and significant risks for our soldiers, reduces pressure on it to release the captives, and enables continued Hamas influence over the Gazan population through the distribution of assistance.
Israel has acted this way because it needs the international backing that the Biden administration provides it, and because it cannot go it alone – not even on munitions, an issue it will need to address after the war by formulating a new policy towards its great friend the US regarding independent weapons production and procurement of armaments from additional sources.
Regarding continuing the war and achieving absolute victory, not only is it correct to say "No" to the US, but it is imperative. Anyone who says "Yes", whether it be Netanyahu or Gantz, will figuratively spit in the faces of the soldiers and their families who sacrificed greatly for the state, and has no moral mandate to do so.
Saying "No" to stopping the war represents almost all of us. Golda Meir insisted on continuing the encirclement of the Third Army in the Yom Kippur War; Menachem Begin defied the US and took out the reactor in Iraq or annexed the Golan Heights; successive Israeli governments have continued construction in Jerusalem. In all cases, Israel's leaders said "No" to the US and "stayed alive". The polls currently indeed show that Netanyahu has lost the political support of most Israeli citizens, but his "no" to the Americans on the issue of stopping the war represents almost all of us.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
