Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains indifferent to the dissenting voices in Israel against his policies.

Many perceive him as the primary impediment to achieving a ceasefire agreement and facilitating a prisoner-exchange deal with Hamas. He also wants to maintain Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, prioritising his own personal interests over broader peace efforts.

Netanyahu has been deaf to the pleas of the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza and the mass demonstrations in Tel Aviv, Occupied Jerusalem, and other towns and cities in Israel calling for striking a prisoner-exchange deal with Hamas.

Disregarding accusations of hindering the negotiation process, he is risking the lives of the captives and potentially leading to a repeat of the Ron Arad case, a reference to an Israeli military pilot who was captured in 1986 by Lebanese resistance fighters and has since disappeared.

Critics argue that Netanyahu’s expansion of Israel’s military operations without securing a deal amounts to a death sentence for the Israeli detainees, prompting calls for his removal from their families in order to safeguard their loved ones.

His continued tenure threatens to perpetuate the conflict indefinitely, while Washington is working with Qatar and Egypt to broker a deal that is acceptable to all parties.

Political analyst Nidal Khadra said that it is not difficult to see why Netanyahu is obstructing any ceasefire or de-escalation agreement, given the situation in Israel. Netanyahu fears facing trial due to his failure to avert the events of 7 October, as well as for his implication in three corruption scandals.

In Case No. 1000, he is accused of fraud and breach of trust for accepting gifts like cigars and champagne from foreign businessmen. Case No. 2000 involves similar charges, saying that he sought favourable media coverage against a competitor in a prominent Israeli newspaper.

“The gravest is Case No. 4000, in which Netanyahu faces charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. He is accused of providing regulatory benefits worth over $250 million to his associate Shaul Elovitch, controlling shareholder of the telecommunications firm Bezeq,” Khadra said.

“Elovitch manipulated coverage on his online news platform Walla to portray Netanyahu favourably,” he added.

Netanyahu has evaded accountability for the 7 October attack, instead insisting on retaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt as a precondition for any deal with Hamas, claiming concerns about weapons smuggling through tunnels.

Critics in Israeli politics and the media accuse him of impeding the agreement out of fears of destabilising his government.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has rebutted Netanyahu’s claims, saying that the Israeli ground operation in Rafah in southern Gaza has concluded and that the country’s military are awaiting a political directive to withdraw with or without a swap deal.

The report said that Israeli army leaders have come to realise that most smuggling activities occur above ground rather than through the tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor and that Hamas have destroyed many tunnels themselves.

It turns out that these tunnels have also been sealed on the Egyptian side.

The newspaper said that reports from Israeli army correspondents in Rafah aim to discredit Netanyahu, arguing that there is nothing left for him to do in Rafah or the Philadelphi Corridor.

Netanyahu is also the subject of an application for an arrest warrant on charges of war crimes issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and he has one of the highest records of killing and displacing Gazans and West Bank residents among all Israeli premiers. Throughout his tenure, Netanyahu has launched four military offensives against the Palestinians in Gaza, claiming to be targeting various factions.

Political commentator Mohsen Abu Ramadan told Al-Ahram Weekly that “Netanyahu is reluctant to end the war in Gaza, despite the discord it has generated in Israeli society. His reluctance stems from fears of domestic and international prosecution, and he is careless about the safety of the Israeli captives and troops engaged in Gaza and the daily loss of Palestinian lives.”

“Netanyahu wants to prolong the Gaza war to evade his trial, leveraging the state of emergency declared by the Ministry of Justice in December 2023 and the reluctance of many Israeli officials to resume his trial amid the Gaza war,” Abu Ramadan said.

He referred to the growing discord within Israeli society, such as the recent general strike by the Israeli labour union Histadrut and the widespread protests in Tel Aviv and other cities to compel Netanyahu to strike a prisoner-swap deal.

The death of six Israeli detainees has galvanised fresh protests in Israel, aiming to put more pressure on Netanyahu and his government to finalise an exchange-deal quickly.

Observers believe that Netanyahu’s government cannot achieve progress in the Gaza Strip, following its failure to attain the war’s objectives. They argue that Netanyahu’s reluctance to finalise a prisoner-exchange and a ceasefire pact in Gaza is part of an attempt to evade ending the war, which would potentially subject him to trial while allowing Hamas an opportunity to claim success.

Opposition parties in Israel are trying to promote the formation of an alternative government that would prioritise securing a prisoner-exchange deal with Hamas for the return of its soldiers. Opposition leader Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot have reportedly talked with Aryeh Deri, head of the Haredi Party, and Moshe Ariel, minister of the interior from the Shas Party, with a view to forming an alternative government that would work to secure the return of the captives and terminate the escalation with Hizbullah.

Netanyahu knows full well that even if presented with an opportunity to secure the release of the soldiers, he will not secure the political backing he needs from a government of this sort.

Meanwhile, divisions are deepening between Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant and Netanyahu, with Galant levelling harsh criticisms at Netanyahu for delays in making a deal. He has accused Netanyahu of lacking the boldness in private discussions that he projects in public, particularly in relation to ceasefire agreements and repatriation deals.

Representing the perspective of the Israeli military and security establishment, Galant has expressed concerns that Israel risks squandering hard-won military gains due to internal political considerations impeding Netanyahu’s decision-making.

He sees a ceasefire with Hamas as a strategic opportunity for Israel to reshape its security dynamics across all fronts, notably regarding the Hizbullah threat in the north.

The Israeli army and Hizbullah have been exchanging fire on the Lebanese border on a daily basis since 7 October, which has led to the displacement of thousands of residents on both sides. There has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government as a result of the nearly one million displaced people in the south due to Hamas’ rocket attacks.

Galant endorses the initial phase of the three-part ceasefire proposal put forth by US President Joe Biden on 31 May, expressing optimism that it could serve as a foundation for ending the war.

Biden’s plan proposes an immediate six-week ceasefire in the first phase, along with the exchange of captives for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from populated areas in Gaza.

Galant is calling for the implementation of the first phase of the plan, saying that Hamas as a military group is no longer present in the Strip. He says that while the Israeli army continues to combat Hamas fighters and chase after its leaders, the group’s strength has dwindled to a guerrilla warfare level, which means a protracted war of attrition, taxing the Israeli military in terms of manpower and resources.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapidis says that halting the conflict in Gaza will allow the army to regroup and consolidate Israel’s political and security interests. He is calling on the Israeli government to accede to a swap deal and end the war in Gaza.

Lapid believes that Hamas is responsible for the 7 October, but that Netanyahu shoulders some accountability for the series of failures that led up to the incident, pointing to the failure to anticipate and counter the attack. Netanyahu is reluctant to end the war as he fears facing the repercussions of that failure, he said.

Netanyahu is risking the lives of the prisoners and of Israeli soldiers, and he has committed acts leading to the death, injury, and arrest of 200,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mainly women, children, and the elderly, as well as the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure, all for the sake of staying at the helm and avoiding trial on charges of breaches of trust and the misuse of public funds.

He also fears being pursued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and possibly also the ICJ, on charges of war crimes in Gaza.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 19 September, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly