Ever since Israel declared war on Gaza and Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and military personnel and the injury of thousands, numerous myths and items of disinformation have been circulating on social media. These focus on topics such as the land rights of Israel in Palestine and the historical enmity between Muslims and Jews.
Before undertaking a task to focus on this, portraying a picture of the political scenario in Israel before the Hamas attack would help us understand the vicious game that the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with cohorts of his intelligence, has been playing for years whenever his government faces trouble.
The present Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu with the support of ultra-extremist Jewish sects whose presence however barely rises above a fringe in the country’s parliament, the Knesset, has not been at ease for many reasons, including corruption charges against Netanyahu, and his attempt to become invincible to remain in power.
According to reports, Netanyahu has been charged with fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes in three corruption cases. Recently, the Israeli street witnessed mass protests—never have such protests happened since the formation of Israel—against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for his resignation. The protestors find him a threat to Israeli democracy as he advocated for judicial reform only to shield himself from being prosecuted.
Many Israeli political pundits have expressed concerns about electoral fairness in the future, fearing it would result in no judicial oversight, constant disregard for human rights, annexation of Palestinian lands, disenfranchisement of their people, and normalization of all these processes by the media.
All these charges and protests have left him in a challenging situation since their eruption with opposition parties continuing to call for his prosecution on charges filed against the prime minister. The West, particularly the US, which has extended full backing whenever Netanyahu found himself in a political danger zone, also weighed in, urging him to neutralize the situation.
Altogether, the political scene was not conducive for Netanyahu in Israel before the attack from Hamas. Jewish ultra-extremists and Israeli security forces continued to storm the Al-Aqsa mosque and attacked Muslim worshippers. Often they forced Muslims and Christians out of the region, violating international law. More crucially, there was also a picture of a forceful attempt to extend Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem, where Muslims were pushed out of their homes, leaving them in the street. It could be seen as an attempt to derail attention from Netanyahu’s jeopardy.
Was it really Israel’s intelligence failure?
How could anyone, with a sense of understanding, fathom that thousands of rockets fired by Hamas managed to escape Israel's Iron Dome system? The failure of this system, known for being the world's impeccable defence mechanism capable of averting any attack, raises perplexing questions. Even if one were to throw a stone into Israeli territory, it would seemingly vanish into mere dust without a moment's delay. The disturbing possibility arises that what occurred might have been a deliberate failure on the part of the Israeli government. Despite available intelligence, it appears that the system remained unresponsive to attacks from Hamas, resulting in the loss of lives.
What unfolded after that has been the real goal of this attack: the whole of Israel, including the opposition party rallied behind Prime Minister Netanyahu, who declared war against Hamas. It should then be assumed that Prime Minister Netanyahu let his own people be exposed to the attack from Hamas. Over two thousand Israeli civilians were reported to have been killed in the attack, and several thousand were left injured.
What about the people of Gaza, who have been living enclosed for years without any contact with the outside world within a wall created by Israel? Reports suggest that about 1,500 people have lost their lives, including children and women. Besides, as the Israel force prepares to launch a ground invasion, over a million Gazans have been asked to vacate the place if they fear for their lives.
Gazans, meanwhile, are determined to remain steadfast on their land, apprehensive that once they move out from there, they will have to leave it forever. But then that may be the plan Israel has drawn up to establish another Jewish settlement there.