[News] Israeli military spokesman’s Hamas defeat remarks widen rift with Netanyahu

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Israeli military spokesman’s Hamas defeat remarks widen rift with Netanyahu

*Daniel Hagari goes against Netanyahu by saying that identifying the
impossible task of defeating Hamas as Israel’s end goal in Gaza means
‘throwing sand in people’s eyes’.*
Video Duration 02 minutes 39 seconds 02:39

Published On 20 Jun 2024 -
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/20/israeli-military-spokesmans-hamas-defeat-remarks-widen-rift-with-netanyahu
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*Al Jazeera is reporting from outside Israel because it has been banned by
the Israeli government.*

Israel’s military spokesman has exposed a widening rift between the
country’s political and army leadership, questioning Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goal of destroying Hamas
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/20/israel-war-on-gaza-live-israeli-tanks-drones-strike-western-rafah>
in the Gaza Strip for the war to end.

After nine months of war in which more than 37,000 Palestinians have been
killed in the name of eliminating the armed group that governs the besieged
enclave, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israel’s Channel 13 broadcaster on
Wednesday that the task was impossible.

“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear – it’s simply
throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” he said. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas
is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people – whoever thinks we can
eliminate Hamas is wrong.”

Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said Netanyahu’s
office was “fuming” at Hagari’s remarks.

“This just gives you an idea of what Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies are in
this war, and the army on the ground saying it is actually not realistic,”
she added.

Netanyahu’s office responded by saying that the security cabinet, chaired
by the prime minister, “has defined the destruction of Hamas’ military and
governing capabilities as one of the goals of the war. The Israeli
military, of course, is committed to this.”

The military quickly issued a clarification, saying it was “committed to
achieving the goals of the war as defined by the cabinet” and that it has
been working on this “throughout the war, day and night, and will continue
to do so”.

Hagari’s comments, it said, “referred to the destruction of Hamas as an
ideology and an idea, and this was said by him very clearly and
explicitly,” the military statement added. “Any other claim is taking
things out of context.”

Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar said Hagari has undermined
Netanyahu’s “doctrine” that Hamas could be defeated “once and for all”.

“Right now, it seems that for the first time after many years, there is an
ongoing escalation between the government headed by Netanyahu and his
entourage of reporters, analysts who are actually on his – unofficially –
on his team, that are smearing the chief of staff,” Eldar told Al Jazeera.

“It’s a kind of apocalyptic scenario that the army spokesman – who is
reporting to the chief of staff – is just undermining Netanyahu’s doctrine,
which is: We do have to put an end to the Hamas government once and for all
in Gaza,” Eldar said.

“What Hagari is saying is challenging Netanyahu and saying, actually … you
are hallucinating.”
Previous signs of discontent

There have already been open signs of discontent over the handling of the
war by Netanyahu’s government, a coalition that includes right-wing
hardliners who oppose any kind of settlement
<https://apnews.com/article/israel-jerusalem-palestinians-al-aqsa-extremism-d0a2c4e0ff0b7bf443ef4dd8750282ec>
with
Hamas.

Months of internationally mediated ceasefire talks, including a proposal
floated this month by US President Joe Biden, have stalled.

Benny Gantz, a former military chief and centrist politician, withdrew from
Netanyahu’s war cabinet
<https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-gaza-netanyahu-gantz-48a4a60ccccdb7f74b4bf7816f9a7c67>
earlier
this month, citing frustration over the prime minister’s conduct of the war.

And Netanyahu this week expressed displeasure with the army’s decision to
declare a “tactical pause” in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to help
deliver humanitarian aid.

An aide said Netanyahu was caught off guard by the announcement, and
Israeli TV stations quoted him as saying, “We have a country with an army,
not an army with a country.”
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