Time to Drop the Hammer on ‘Bibi’
July 9—As could have been expected, the Butcher of Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu has thrown a monkey wrench in the form of his personal “red line demands” into the ongoing Gaza ceasefire/hostage release negotiations. The demands, which Bibi calls “principles,” could never be accepted in their stated form, by Hamas, who had already agreed to the terms outlined in a U.S. proposal, supposedly backed by the Israeli government.
America’s most able diplomat, CIA Director William Burns was already in Cairo waiting for his Israeli counterpart, Ronan Bar, Director of the Israeli Security Agency (the Shin-Bet), who Bibi had tried to keep off the negotiating team, to arrive to hammer out the concrete details of the deal, which is based on the so-called Biden Three-Phase plan, which Burns had worked for weeks crafting, and which Netanyahu had refused to endorse. Burns had sought authority to demand Israeli acceptance of the new deal, meaning Bibi's endorsement, at pain of a halt in U.S. arms shipments to Israel. But, with "Sleepy Joe" Biden staggering between blunders and incoherence, such authority was denied by the White House political people who feared the outrage of the powerful Zionist lobby. If there is a deal, it will have to come in part from Burns' skill as a negotiator—and from help of growing anti-Netanyahu crowd in the Israeli establishment and military.
Pressure is building for an end to war inside Israel’s war-weary population, and especially among the families of the hostages, who believe that Netanyahu has ignored their captive loved ones, whom he has said he will sacrifice in his extermination war against all Palestinians and to destroy the potential for a Palestinian state. Demonstrations are taking place daily in the streets throughout Israel calling for a ceasefire and hostage deal, and an end to the tyrant Bibi's rule. These views, sources report are shared by the leadership of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who want a Gaza deal in time to stop what otherwise might be an inevitable war in the West Bank.
The war in Gaza, as Israel’s military leaders have known for some time, and as most among the sane Israeli population have come to realize, was never really about revenge for the Hamas savage Oct. 7 massacre and Netanyahu’s wish for their annihilation, but about the Prime Minister's messianic desire to save the Jewish people from being overwhelmed by Palestinian untermenschen (those deemed racially or socially inferior). In this warped and immoral view, he is joined by the insane religious zealots to whom he has given prominent roles in his “unity government:” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, the latter who has deployed police in savage acts against even elderly protestors and hostage family members. These evil clowns give Bibi cover to say he cannot support any ceasefire/hostage deal, because they will collapse his government if he signs on.
The Prime Minister’s “Principles for a Hostage Release Deal,” released the evening of July 7, contains four demands for any plan: that Israel is allowed to resume its offensive operations until it achieves its war goals; that Hamas is prevented from smuggling arms from Egypt; that thousands of alledged terrorists are blocked from returning to northern Gaza; and that the number of living hostages to be returned from Hamas captivity is maximized.
A security source involved in the talks told Haaretz that the document represented only Bibi’s “personal opinion,” and that none of the other officials involved in the talks shared his views. A diplomatic source told Haaretz that “Netanyahu boxed himself in. Israel won’t be able to compromise on any of these demands now, and will find it difficult to show flexibility in places that could have helped to promote the deal.” He and other sources say that it is an act to totally sabotage the negotiations and to scuttle any possible deal.
Bibi is likely counting on some help from his co-evil twin and asset, Hamas terror leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who also wants to sabotage the talks, so as to allow for the outbreak of a full war in the West Bank. Sinwar, who once told a journalist that he would be fine if even a million Palestinians died and became martyrs to the "cause," was forced by other senior Hamas leaders to keep his mouth shut on this latest deal, which Hamas then accepted in outline. Now, sources say, Bibi’s demands could give Sinwar the excuse to open his yap and scuttle the negotiations.
“The talks cannot be allowed to fail,” said a source familiar with Burns’ thinking. “Bibi’s actions make it clear that he needs to be pushed into a corner and then out of power. There is a card that can be played, and that card involves telling the truth about what happened on October 7, 2023. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has been studying the matter and will release their findings soon There was a failure on their part to deploy properly, especially in the face of having for more than a year, almost an exact blueprint of the proposed attack and related operations, obtained by Israeli intelligence from sources inside Hamas.
“While Sinwar acts like a jackass, claiming that he created Hamas, the truth is Netanyahu created Hamas, by giving it control over Gaza, precisely because Sinwar and others were opposed to a Palestinian state. Netanyahu gave Hamas authority and money. Yet, Sinwar planned the attack on Israel and the related slaughter that occurred. He said he did this to stir up the pot, to make the world aware of the Palestinian cause. But did he, really? Or did he just create the circumstances for the slaughter of his own people, to whose benefit?
“Now, here it gets interesting,” said the source. “Who benefits? Perhaps one Bibi Netanyahu. The same Bibi who was facing jail for multiple acts of corruption, who was about to be frog-marched out of office. Bibi needed a war, to keep him out of jail, and also to launch his messianic genocide against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian state. So, the Prime Minister who was briefed on Hamas’ plans, stood down. He didn’t prepare a response, when a response would have been a simple deployment to the border. The Prime Minister knew—or, if you want, should have known—of the threat, and could have instituted a proper vigil, by both the intelligence services and the military. But instead, what did he do? He deployed troops already at the border, away from it, to defend the government ministers in their provocations on the West Bank. And his authorities approved a DJ music festival within a stone's throw from the border, without any real protection. What insane person allows that? Allows for the set up of children and young adults as bait for Hamas?
“Bibi will claim that the Intel people and the IDF did not put enough credence in Hamas’ plans,” the source continued. “But in the end, it is he on whom the final judgment for decisions must rest. And does anyone doubt for a moment that this man would kill Israelis if it served his corrupt and messianic purposes? Do you really doubt that? Look at how he sacrifices the lives of the hostages for his ‘cause’ now. He is no different than his co-evil twin, Sinwar. The two deserve each other—but should be hung by a Nuremberg-like tribunal for crimes against humanity.”
There is one other report that must be considered. Sources say that U.S. intelligence, including the CIA, found Hamas’ plans highly credible, and that that assessment was shared with their Israeli counterparts. One must assume that Bibi was made aware of this as well.
Now, with a potential deal at hand, the Prime Minister issues demands. The time has come for some Israelis with courage to force through a ceasefire/hostage deal right now, before Bibi can spread his genocide to the West Bank, where a war with a much-better equipped and trained Hezbollah could spin up into a dangerous—for the world—regional war, involving Iran. If only America had a stronger, more capable President than Sleepy Joe to deal with this. Meanwhile, we can hope that Burns can bring this deal home—and help Israelis get Bibi off the playing field, or at least out of the way.