Why does Netanyahu launch endless wars in the Middle East?

Why Netanyahu Wages Endless Wars in the Middle East

February 22, 2025, 12:10 - Opinion

The situation in the Middle East shows that Israel hardly seeks peace negotiations, more often just going through the motions of negotiation without viewing diplomacy as a primary tool. Clearly, this attitude stems directly from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose political views determine Israel's strategy.

Author: Sergey Lebedev - Teacher at the Russian Government Finance University

Observers note that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have no clear plan to end the current conflict. Even former U.S. President Joe Biden noticed this, calling Netanyahu "without a strategy," though it’s hard to say how acute Biden’s insight was. Likely, the fact is that delaying military actions and increasing their cruelty benefits this Israeli leader.

Benjamin Netanyahu entered the global political stage in the 1990s and quickly earned the reputation of an Israeli "hawk," advocating the hardest line on the Palestinian issue and generally promoting dialogue solely through force. Netanyahu's radical stance was not very popular at the time. In 1993, Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization signed the Oslo Accords, bringing hope for peace. In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by an extreme right-wing radical who believed Israel should make no compromises - this assassination sparked public outrage in Israeli society, which was already tired of decades of stalemate conflicts and longed to end them.

In other words, in the 1996 election, Netanyahu should have lost to Shimon Peres - a heavyweight politician hoping to continue resolving conflicts through diplomatic means. However, an event now commonly referred to as a "black swan" occurred - Palestinian armed organizations launched a series of terrorist attacks in Israel, making Netanyahu's tough stance suddenly seem reasonable and cautious, while Peres appeared weak and powerless.

Of course, Peres was neither weak nor incapable - otherwise, he wouldn't have been entrusted with Israel's nuclear program decades ago. But the impact of the terrorist attacks played a role, and Netanyahu won his first truly significant election, becoming the youngest national leader in modern Israeli history.

But the key point is that he was convinced that tough rhetoric made sense and began to build his future political career around the promise of speaking only with force to Israel's enemies. Journalists and political experts nicknamed him "Mr. Security" - likely promoted by his own PR team, and this theme became the essence of his governance. What matters is not how much Israeli society truly associates its security with Netanyahu, but that, in all aspects, he believes himself to be the embodiment of this promise - a belief that is also occasionally stoked by Western media.

That's why the events of October 7th left Netanyahu so unbalanced. Of course, it's hard to imagine a national leader remaining calm in such circumstances, but Netanyahu clearly indicated that he bet on eliminating any resistance forces in Gaza - in his words, "every Hamas member will be dead." The Palestinian armed organization not only challenged him but also struck at the core of his image, showing that he could not fulfill his key promises. Therefore, one of Netanyahu's main motivations in the current war is revenge. As people say, some people yearn to see the world engulfed in flames.

The second key motivation of this Israeli leader - surprisingly sounding - is political power. Shortly before the Hamas attack, Netanyahu faced a severe legitimacy crisis due to his judicial system reform plan. So, although the October 7th incident was extremely humiliating, it provided Netanyahu with an opportunity to employ an ancient and effective political strategy known as the "gamble for resurrection."

It is well known that large-scale conflicts almost always lead to a rise in public support for leaders (the so-called "rally around the flag" phenomenon), so politicians often view war as the last resort to maintain power. The large-scale operation against Hamas (which subsequently expanded into broader conflict) fits this logic - though there is a subtle point. For some reason, Israeli society does not fall for this time-tested old political trick; while supporting the military action, it still demands that Netanyahu step down immediately after the fighting ends, or even earlier. It naturally follows that for this Israeli leader, prolonging the conflict as much as possible without harming his own interests aligns with his interests.

A third factor that cannot be ignored is Jewish nationalism, which is obviously the cornerstone of Netanyahu's political worldview. As a representative of the generation born after the Holocaust, Netanyahu undoubtedly personally felt the psychological impact of this great crime and fundamentally accepted the idea of building a strong Jewish state with a powerful army and intelligence agency that would protect its people at all costs.

Israel's strategic thinking actively supports the concept of preemptive devastating strikes, and this seems to be influenced not only by the region's geopolitical characteristics but also by the collective memory of the Holocaust. Netanyahu understands that his political career is nearing its end and may wish to be remembered as one of the founders of a "Greater Israel," a Jewish state occupying the territories once ruled by King David, regardless of how utopian it sounds. To achieve this goal, he only needs to eliminate everyone who does not recognize his version of territorial boundaries.

This article is based on research conducted jointly by the author and Professor Mikhail Grachev of the Russian National Research University.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494236324552933951/

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