Trump Ends the Slaughter, Netanyahu’s Problems Remain*
The U.S. president deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, but what has the Israeli prime minister earned?
Donald Trump has done in a few months what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unable to do. Last Monday, all living Hamas hostages were released, and the process of handing over the bodies of those who had lost their lives continued. The hostages were held by Palestinian terrorists for 738 days. During this time not only did Israeli politicians wear yellow ribbons, but people around the world kept their fate alive. During the Jewish holidays, people set empty places at their tables in the hope that the hostages would one day return and rejoin the community of free Israelis.
In Israel itself, people set up empty plastic chairs at intersections across the country, symbolizing their expectation that those kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 would be released. People covered streets, fences, bus stops, and utility poles with countless photographs of the victims, as well as of the living hostages taken in this bloodiest attack on Israel.
Why Benjamin Netanyahu Failed To Achieve His Goals in Gaza
Every Saturday in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, tens of thousands of citizens gathered in the main squares, demanding that the government secure the release of prisoners. The demonstrations began after dark after Sabbath ended, when public transport resumed. The current wave of protests began earlier — after Netanyahu's last return to power in 2022, when he set about dismantling the Supreme Court. For months, people protested the changes, which the liberal part of society saw as an attempt to dismantle the secular safeguards of the Jewish state. These protests quickly turned into a defense of the hostages.
And it was this demand for the release of the hostages that united the public in recent months, even though Netanyahu was deeply unpopular. The Israeli left was outraged by the army's actions in Gaza and alarmed about the humanitarian situation, but few people openly criticized their government's actions, as demands for the return of hostages were widespread. Now this fragile unity in Israel will crumble, and political reckoning will begin. And rightly so, because the war has gone on for too long, devastated Gaza, and cost the lives of tens of thousands of innocent victims — leading to increasingly widespread charges of genocide against Netanyahu.
We must admit that Netanyahu failed to achieve the goal he set after the Oct. 7 attack. The aim of the military operation was to secure the release of the hostages and annihilate Hamas. Yet the last surviving hostages were released not thanks to a two-year military campaign, but through tough negotiations brokered by Trump. What’s more, Hamas — though obliged to disarm — remains a party to the agreement and will survive. It’s true that Netanyahu has radically weakened Hamas’s military capabilities, nearly destroyed another hostile organization, Hezbollah, and — with the help of the U.S. Air Force — severely reduced Iran’s ability to directly attack Israel.
There is no doubt, however, that Trump exploited Netanyahu’s weakness to force him — as well as Hamas — to accept a ceasefire inconvenient for both sides. The U.S. president personally oversaw the negotiations, drawing on good relations with Arab states and leveraging international pressure on Israel from Western countries that recognized the statehood of Palestine. He also capitalized on the widespread irritation with Netanyahu following the air attack on the Qatari capital, Doha — and he backed the Israeli prime minister into a corner.
It is Trump who reaps the rewards today after bringing an end to the terrible conflict in Gaza. He was the one who secured the release of the hostages and halted Israeli military operations that caused the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza. We should celebrate the end of this slaughter — and no matter what one thinks of Trump, he deserves his place in history.
Will Anyone in Israel Be Held Accountable for the Deaths of Civilians in Gaza?
But now, as I said, the time for accountability will also come. For too long, the Israeli government has resorted to military action, not so much to secure the release of hostages, as to escape domestic problems. Netanyahu is now trapped in a fragile coalition with a radical right that hates the Palestinians and would gladly organize ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The prime minister’s problems — his corruption trial and the two scandals that followed (for instance, the scandal over Qatar’s funding of his associates, which is far from over) — persist. Now it will be much more difficult for him to resort to war to leave those scandals behind.
Hamas has been severely punished for the Israeli bloodshed on Oct. 7. Will anyone be held accountable for the bloodshed of Palestinian civilians in Gaza who have died over the past two years?
In addition to settling scores, we are now facing the most difficult part of implementing the peace plan: rebuilding the Gaza Strip and normalizing relations between Israel and Palestine — which, after such bloodshed, will not be easy. Let’s hope Trump won’t lack the determination he showed in negotiating the last deal to continue this process. But he has certainly earned himself next year’s Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the war in Gaza to an end.
*Editor’s note: This article is available in its original language through a paid subscription.
Donald Trump has done in a few months what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unable to do. Last Monday, all living Hamas hostages were released, and the process of handing over the bodies of those who had lost their lives continued. The hostages were held by Palestinian terrorists for 738 days. During this time not only did Israeli politicians wear yellow ribbons, but people around the world kept their fate alive. During the Jewish holidays, people set empty places at their tables in the hope that the hostages would one day return and rejoin the community of free Israelis.
In Israel itself, people set up empty plastic chairs at intersections across the country, symbolizing their expectation that those kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 would be released. People covered streets, fences, bus stops, and utility poles with countless photographs of the victims, as well as of the living hostages taken in this bloodiest attack on Israel.
Why Benjamin Netanyahu Failed To Achieve His Goals in Gaza
Every Saturday in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, tens of thousands of citizens gathered in the main squares, demanding that the government secure the release of prisoners. The demonstrations began after dark after Sabbath ended, when public transport resumed. The current wave of protests began earlier — after Netanyahu's last return to power in 2022, when he set about dismantling the Supreme Court. For months, people protested the changes, which the liberal part of society saw as an attempt to dismantle the secular safeguards of the Jewish state. These protests quickly turned into a defense of the hostages.
And it was this demand for the release of the hostages that united the public in recent months, even though Netanyahu was deeply unpopular. The Israeli left was outraged by the army's actions in Gaza and alarmed about the humanitarian situation, but few people openly criticized their government's actions, as demands for the return of hostages were widespread. Now this fragile unity in Israel will crumble, and political reckoning will begin. And rightly so, because the war has gone on for too long, devastated Gaza, and cost the lives of tens of thousands of innocent victims — leading to increasingly widespread charges of genocide against Netanyahu.
We must admit that Netanyahu failed to achieve the goal he set after the Oct. 7 attack. The aim of the military operation was to secure the release of the hostages and annihilate Hamas. Yet the last surviving hostages were released not thanks to a two-year military campaign, but through tough negotiations brokered by Trump. What’s more, Hamas — though obliged to disarm — remains a party to the agreement and will survive. It’s true that Netanyahu has radically weakened Hamas’s military capabilities, nearly destroyed another hostile organization, Hezbollah, and — with the help of the U.S. Air Force — severely reduced Iran’s ability to directly attack Israel.
There is no doubt, however, that Trump exploited Netanyahu’s weakness to force him — as well as Hamas — to accept a ceasefire inconvenient for both sides. The U.S. president personally oversaw the negotiations, drawing on good relations with Arab states and leveraging international pressure on Israel from Western countries that recognized the statehood of Palestine. He also capitalized on the widespread irritation with Netanyahu following the air attack on the Qatari capital, Doha — and he backed the Israeli prime minister into a corner.
It is Trump who reaps the rewards today after bringing an end to the terrible conflict in Gaza. He was the one who secured the release of the hostages and halted Israeli military operations that caused the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza. We should celebrate the end of this slaughter — and no matter what one thinks of Trump, he deserves his place in history.
Will Anyone in Israel Be Held Accountable for the Deaths of Civilians in Gaza?
But now, as I said, the time for accountability will also come. For too long, the Israeli government has resorted to military action, not so much to secure the release of hostages, as to escape domestic problems. Netanyahu is now trapped in a fragile coalition with a radical right that hates the Palestinians and would gladly organize ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The prime minister’s problems — his corruption trial and the two scandals that followed (for instance, the scandal over Qatar’s funding of his associates, which is far from over) — persist. Now it will be much more difficult for him to resort to war to leave those scandals behind.
Hamas has been severely punished for the Israeli bloodshed on Oct. 7. Will anyone be held accountable for the bloodshed of Palestinian civilians in Gaza who have died over the past two years?
In addition to settling scores, we are now facing the most difficult part of implementing the peace plan: rebuilding the Gaza Strip and normalizing relations between Israel and Palestine — which, after such bloodshed, will not be easy. Let’s hope Trump won’t lack the determination he showed in negotiating the last deal to continue this process. But he has certainly earned himself next year’s Nobel Peace Prize for bringing the war in Gaza to an end.
*Editor’s note: This article is available in its original language through a paid subscription.
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