On the aftermath – Mairav Zonszein in NYT:

‘Since the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has ostensibly been focused on re-establishing its security in the region, both by rebuilding its ability to deter adversaries and dismantling their military capabilities, but also by being willing to engage in perpetual war, a state of affairs that has transformed Israeli society and power dynamics in the Middle East. Israel has been brazen, unpredictable and, until the recent proposed cease-fire, all but unstoppable. In most arenas, it continued to use force without engaging in any viable diplomacy. The most notable example of this is, of course, Israel’s destruction of Gaza, which has made the strip largely unlivable, as some cabinet members openly intended.’

(…)

‘All of this should concern Israelis. Even if the war ends, there will then need to be a moment of soul-searching about the collective society’s responsibility for the years of mass killing and displacement. Palestinians desperately need this war to end. But so do Israelis.
The liabilities of Israel’s security doctrine have become increasingly evident. It was ultimately the failed attack in Doha — striking the heart of the Gulf, where Israel has benefited from the continued shield of the Abraham Accords — that backfired, prompting concerted pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to meet Mr. Trump’s demand for an end to the war. The Netanyahu coalition’s recent push into Gaza City not only unfolded against the will of some in the Israeli military and most Israelis, it helped fuel a growing global consensus that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel’s diplomatic isolation — on full display at the United Nations last month as major Western nations recognized the State of Palestine and Mr. Netanyahu addressed a hall of largely empty seats — was making the country look more and more like a self-defeating, irrational actor than the regional hegemon it aspired to be.’

(…)

‘When a U.S.-negotiated cease-fire in Gaza went into effect at the start of the year, Israel could have taken the opportunity to get the hostages back and achieve its goals of an improved regional security landscape. Instead, it broke the cease-fire and proceeded to cause widespread starvation among Palestinians in Gaza.’

(…)

‘Usually, a victory might be understood as an endpoint, or at the very least a decisive outcome that does not require further action. In Israel, though, winning has seemed only to yield more rounds of warfare. Israel is not a victor, but a perpetual fighter.
Last month, Mr. Netanyahu delivered what has come to be known as his “super-Sparta” speech. Comparing the country to the ancient cities of Athens and Sparta, Mr. Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated and that its economy and military will have to become more self-reliant. This was not a slip of the tongue: Just as he had conditioned Israelis to become accustomed to constant war, he was also working to normalize the country’s isolation.’

(…)

‘It’s true that a majority of Israeli public and military have, for months, called for a deal to end the war. But none of the actions Israel has taken over the past two years would have been possible without a willing military, news media and society, including tens of thousands of reservists carrying out orders. It is not just that many Israelis have no problem with the idea of expelling Palestinians from Gaza, or are averse to Palestinian self-determination and a two-state solution. At the heart of it, many Israelis — whether out of conviction, fear or deference to those in power — seemed to believe that the way to security is to maintain dominance and crush everyone in their path.
Mr. Trump, for all of his bluster and self-interest, has tried to alter that equation.’

(…)

‘Israelis will know true security only when it is felt by everyone around them, not one country, alone.’

Read the article here.

Addicted to paranoia and perpetual war. Addicted to being the irresponsible bully of the region. No more brains, just muscles.
Is this liberation? Is this Messianism?

Soft power (i.e. diplomacy) might be out of fashion, but sometimes even in times of Trump and Putin not everything can resolved with brute force. See Hobbes and Kant, among others.

On the other, as long as I’ve been around, I have heard the formula that no security can exist, when not everyone in the region feels more or less the same security.

We repeat the same phrases over and over and we hope that this will alter reality.

Or maybe we don’t even that.

We just hope that the we will be recognized as the good guys.