‘Benjamin Netanyahu has blackened Israel’s name’

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is intent on taking control of all of Gaza, after nearly two years of war which has left most of the country in rubble, and an estimated 60,000 people dead.
• Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, tells The News Agents that the UK is in part to blame for the situation, but recognising Palestine now is “never too late”.
• Jon Sopel says Netanyahu’s actions put Israel and its people at greater risk of “hatred”, while Lewis Goodall believes he prizes his own security over that of his country.

What’s the story?

As the international community calls on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to end the suffering in Gaza, the Israeli leader seems set to double-down on the war waged for almost two years.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly set to move to fully occupy Gaza, which it first encroached after its six-day war against Arab states in 1967.

This will include increasing military action in areas where Israeli hostages, taken after the Hamas terror attack of October 7 2023, are being held. Footage of surviving hostages has recently been shared by the group.

It comes as UN countries, including the UK and France, are set to recognise Palestine as a state for the first time.

“I think what many people will find extraordinary, is the idea that after all this time, after everything that we've seen happening in Gaza, that's Netanyahu and the Israeli government's response would be: Let's go a bit further, let's turn the screws even more,” Lewis Goodall says.

“He intends, not to scale down the war not to reduce pressure, but to take over Gaza in its entirety, arguing that Hamas still poses an existential threat to Israel.”

Of the 60,000 people estimated to have been killed in Gaza since October 7 2023, Israel claims 17,000 of these are Hamas fighters.

“Most international experts, military experts and critics at home say Hamas is already decimated,” Lewis adds.

“Its leaders are mostly dead. Its arsenal is severely depleted, if not completely exhausted.”

Netanyahu’s government accused of ‘culture of supremacy’

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, tells The News Agents Netanyahu’s plans to increase military action confirms the belief that Israel has not been targeting Hamas – it has been targeting all Palestinian people.

He accuses Netanyahu’s government of ethnic cleansing and genocide, which it has continually denied, and calls on the international community to stop supplying arms to Israel – with some, such as the UK, still selling weapons while also condemning its actions.

Keir Starmer’s promise to recognise Palestine as a state from September, conditional on the actions of Israel, is overdue but "never too late”, Zomlot says.

“Recognition is not a reward. Recognition is not a punishment. Recognition is not a gift. Recognition is not a favour. It is the absolute birthright of the Palestinian people. And the lack of recognition for so many decades is exactly what led us to this situation,”

Previous acts by the UK to support people in Gaza has been little more than “lip service” to the situation of its people, he adds.

“The international community, including the UK, is responsible for where we are today, how we got into this situation.”

“This is the first time the UK takes a meaningful step towards a political resolution, towards a settlement that will see this region finally embrace its potential.

“We have been wronged for a long time, and by the UK in the first place, and those who argue this case just want the conflict to continue. They want the suffering to continue.”

Born in Gaza, Zomlot has lost several members of his family to Israel’s military actions (including two of his wife’s seven-year-old cousins, and a 15-month old sibling) and says he is in constant communication with people in his homeland.

“What I hear from our people – from my family, from our friends, from my neighbours – is simply beyond description, beyond my own comprehension, not only as an ambassador, but as a father,” he tells Jon and Lewis.

“The only wish they have is that they are able to bury their children.”

He says Netanyahu’s government has enjoyed a “culture of supremacy” in the international community, and its members have a “sense of entitlement” and a belief it can “do whatever they wish”. Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza, he says, is part of that culture.

“This is the real plan, and this is what is unfolding in front of us,” Zomlot adds.

“They failed to do so via the mass murder of more than 60,000 innocent people, mostly women and children. They fail to do so via the mass destruction of Gaza – 90% of Gaza has been completely decimated – and now they are using mass starvation against children.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied there is any starvation in Gaza.

What’s The News Agents’ take?

Netanyahu claims his aim, as it has been since the Hamas attack on Israel of October 7 2023, remains to eradicate the terror group.

But The News Agents believe his motivation now is more personal, and more career focused, than he may publicly admit.

"You can't achieve long term security down the barrel of a gun," Lewis says.

"Netanyahu knows this, but we know that he is thinking and is motivated by his short term political future to stay in office for as long as possible.

"To prize that above not only Gaza, but actually the security of his own country is, is a truly appalling act."

Jon Sopel says Netanyhu's actions now also put Israel "at risk".

“I think the hatred will be even greater. I think the demand for vengeance will be swift, and it will be painful in the long run,” he says.

He calls for more people in Israel to call out the actions of its government, describing them as "bloody dangerous" for both Israeli people, and those in Gaza.

“What I think is so tragic about what Netanyahu has done, and is now proposing to accelerate and intensify, is to blacken Israel's name,” Lewis adds.

“The State of Israel had, in decades gone by, been a symbol of hope and democratic liberal tolerance for so many. Now, saying that you are a friend and ally of Israel becomes problematic.

“That hasn't been done at Hamas' hand, that's been done at Netanyahu's hand, because he has managed to alienate through the actions of his own government.”

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.