In the midst of Middle East tensions, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advocates for Hamas's annihilation and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip as essential prerequisites for attaining peace. "Hamas must be obliterated, the Gaza Strip must be denuded of weapons, and Palestinian society must be stripped of its extremist beliefs. These are the three necessities for achieving tranquility between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors in the Gaza region," penned Netanyahu in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, published Tuesday.
Backing Israel's mission, nations such as the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France, and numerous others view Hamas as an "invaluable Iranian proxy" within the Palestinian territories and offer their support. Hamas leaders, with their public vows to repeat the October 7 massacre, which claimed well over 1,200 lives in Israel, add fuel to this escalating conflict. "The only fair retaliation for preventing a recurrence of such heinous atrocities is their annihilation," Netanyahu writes.
Alongside the military confrontation, life in the Gaza Strip endures under scrutiny. Israel maintains it abides by international law while striving to minimize Palestinian civilian casualties in their war against Hamas. Officially, more than 20,600 Palestinians have perished in Gaza, engendering international criticism of Israel's military actions. In Netanyahu's perspective, assigning blame to Israel for these losses only fortifies the resolve of other terrorist organizations to employ human shield tactics. The international community, he asserts, should pin the blame on Hamas and recognize Israel's battle against barbarism.
To suppress future Gaza Strip attacks and block weapon imports, Netanyahu proposes enforcing a temporary security zone on the border's edge and introducing an inspection mechanism at the boundary between Egypt and Gaza. To forever de-radicalize Palestinians, children must be educated to value life and not death, and religious leaders like imams must refrain from advocating for the murder of Jews, according to Netanyahu.
Israel's Prime Minister's viewpoint on the Middle East conflict, published in the Wall Street Journal, fuels ongoing debates. Amidst international opinions and reactionary approaches, the unrest between Israel and Hamas persists.
