The resignation of Defense Minister
Avigdor Lieberman over the terms of the ceasefire with Palestinians in
Gaza has thrown Israeli politics into real turmoil.
Depending on whose analysis of this
situation you read you may be tempted to see this as a good thing or a
bad thing. Bernard at
Moon of Alabama
sees a weakened Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being forced to sue
of peace after the upgraded response from Gaza. From MoA:
The short conflict demonstrated that:
- Israel is deterred. It does not want to launch another war on Gaza.
- The siege of Gaza, by Israel, Egypt
and by the Palestinian authority under Mahmoud Abbas, failed. The
reputational cost of the siege became too high after Israel killed some
160 Palestinians during weekly protests along the demarcation fence. It
had to allow diesel fuel and money from Qatar to reach Gaza.
- The siege failed to prevent that
Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other groups acquired a larger number of
missiles and other new capabilities.
- The Palestinians in Gaza are united. The resistance against the occupation is alive and well.
This leaves Netanyahu scrambling to
fend off snap elections and the rise of the even more hard-line Naftali
Bennett who has threatened Bibi’s coalition outright unless he is made
Defense Minister, replacing Lieberman.
