Israel's Failed Goals
Israel recently announced that they're demobilizing 5 combat brigades from Gaza. Why?
Experts and analysts have some ideas. They say that Israel is actually moving towards a third phase of the war on the Gaza Strip. This is because Israel couldn't achieve their goals in the previous phases.
One expert, Mustafa Barghouti, thinks that Israel failed to do a few things. First, they couldn't ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip like they wanted to. They also couldn't recover their prisoners, defeat the resistance, or take control of any area they entered with their tanks. Basically, they didn't achieve what they set out to do.
Barghouti also noticed that there's a lot of confusion among Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies. They can't agree on what they want to achieve. It seems like there's a big gap between their goals and what's actually happening.
The Real Danger
Barghouti believes that the real danger lies in Israel's attempt to gradually displace people in Gaza. They want to put economic pressure on the people and destroy the Strip's infrastructure. He thinks that a unified national leadership is needed to stop this and thwart Israeli plans.
He also mentioned the possibility of American intervention. He thinks that US President Joe Biden might lose his position because of the changes happening in American society. To save himself, Biden might put pressure on Netanyahu, who could face imprisonment after the war ends.
The Economic Factor
Another expert, Muhammad Halasa, thinks that the decision to demobilize combat brigades in Gaza has to do with the economy. He says that there are 220,000 reserve soldiers in Israel who play a big role in the economy.
Halasa also points out that there are other fronts that Israel is dealing with, like tension with Lebanese Hezbollah and daily incursions in the West Bank. So, Israel might be rethinking their strategy because the cost of sending the army into Gaza doesn't match the benefits they hoped for.
Netanyahu's Personal Considerations
Halasa believes that the Israeli army feels like they're victims of Netanyahu's personal considerations. He thinks that they might start withdrawing gradually to enter the third phase of the war. This is especially true because there's no clear vision or strategy for the next step, and Israeli society is calling for elections during the war.
He also mentions that Netanyahu has been in power for 16 years and he likes to create problems to distract Israeli society. He talks about issues like the Iranian nuclear program, Hezbollah, and Hamas, but doesn't do much about them. It's all part of his political strategy.
An Imminent Decline
According to military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi, Netanyahu isn't being truthful. There are still 4 brigades operating in the northern Gaza Strip, and they're facing intense fighting. Al-Duwairi thinks that Israel wants to reduce their deployment in Gaza because the economic aspect of the war has been met.
He also believes that the Israeli army can't keep up the same momentum for much longer. They won't be able to continue the battles at the same pace for more than the next two weeks. So, an imminent decline is expected, despite Netanyahu's clashes with the Chiefs of Staff and the Mossad.
Source: Al Jazeera
