Category World News

Israel hasn’t spoken out about the “war” in Gaza for many weeks. After all, is there a ceasefire in place, or not? Both here and there are not accurate accounts of the deaths of more than 350 Palestinians during this alleged “ceasefire,” nor is it the death of more than 130 children. Palestinians are there to help them die because of this. Nothing can be discussed.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pardon request is yet another piece of cake. Anyone in Israel who appears to be discussing it on any one of the political spectrum seems to be saying it. Nothing more accurately reflects the age of Netanyahu (my daughter, age 22, has only recently witnessed an Israel led by Netanyahu). Netanyahu’s angry supporters point out that this is not even a pardon request. The Israeli president, who is currently Isaac Herzog, a former leader of Netanyahu’s opposition, has the legal authority to pardon “felons”. However, felons are those who have been found guilty of breaking the law in court. The trial of Netanyahu is still ongoing.

In Israel’s history, there hasn’t been more than one pardon issued before a conviction (presumably before a trial). Shin Bet employees, who stormed a bus that had been taken by Palestinians in 1984, were given the opportunity to kill two of the hijackers. The Shin Bet leadership rigged the internal investigation into what became known as the Bus 300 affair. An unprecedented agreement was reached two years later that pardoned the Shin Bet members who were detained without being charged with any wrongdoing in the extrajudicial killings as well as gave them the opportunity to step down. There were mentions of special security concerns. In essence, Netanyahu asks that the same circumstances be used.

However, he is not just requesting a pardon. In order to promote “national unity” and the “stupendous developments” expected by Netanyahu in the Middle East, he is asking the president to stop the trial (a largely ceremonial role). The trial should have never have begun, in the eyes of his devoted supporters. Due to the “weakness” of the indictments he faces, they have argued for both a mistrial and a prosecution immunity. His supporters now claim that his full-time leadership role is necessary in the midst of a never-ending conflict (at Netanyahu’s instigation and orchestration). They attribute his trial to the Israeli legal system’s “crucial” legal and judicial reform, which Netanyahu initiated long before October 7, 2023, as a personal vendetta by the Israeli government. The uproar in response to Netanyahu’s request is a perfect illustration of the Israeli “deep state”‘s hatred for Netanyahu and Israel in general, according to these supporters in parliament and media. They have responded to Netanyahu’s request with gusto, from environmental protection minister Idit Silman’s warning that Donald Trump will be “forced to intervene” against Israel’s judicial system to Amit Hadad, Netanyahu’s personal attorney, who has vowed to get the trial to stop so that he can “get on with the business of healing the nation” and take over the country’s current crisis.

The persistent “compromisers,” who assert at every turn that the truth can only be found in the middle, exist between the two camps. These infamous Israeli centrists are urging a plea deal or some other major agreement. The majority of people want a political settlement that would require Netanyahu’s defection from politics in exchange for avoiding conviction. Others prefer a “moderate” approach that would focus on Netanyahu’s role in the events of October 7, 2023, particularly the dysfunctional behavior of the Israeli military and other governmental authorities, but not as much on a solution as the general framing of the issue. The desirable narrative must always be one of unity, and unity only becomes possible when both “sides” come to terms with less than 100% of their initial desires.

These seemingly contradictory approaches all focus entirely on Netanyahu, which is the common denominator. Consider the centrists, for instance. In his favor, Netanyahu wrote a never-before-seen letter that essentially demanded that institutional norms and state law be suspended. The justification was vague at best, with references to “interests,” “stupendous developments,” national unity, and, at worst, cynical manipulation. One might assume that Netanyahu’s request would be dubious by those who swore “moderation” would be. These centrists immediately accepted the letter as legitimate and sought to place their compromise in relation to it when Netanyahu made it public.

The liberals are also in the same boat. The largest demonstration before the ceasefire became effective was attended by US Presidents Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner before it was officially enacted. These protesters consolidated their differences with Netanyahu into one issue, namely his failure (and lack of desire) to release the hostages. The audience booed when Kushner mentioned Netanyahu. Israeli media consumed with the boos for three days, which is much longer than the Israeli attention span for, say, a Palestinians’ documented execution. They were they authorized. Because he was the prime minister, were they improper? Did they demonstrate that the protests against him were merely motivated by his supporters’ hatred for him? Was Netanyahu the definition of evil that no one should be ashamed of? In those days, hundreds and hundreds of people perished. Both the Israeli economy and the infrastructure were destroyed. Netanyahu, Netanyahu’s response, Netanyahu’s positioning, all these liberal Israelis wanted to talk about.

No one but Netanyahu is available to Netanyahu’s supporters. He is “their” representative in the face of the ruling class who believes the nation belongs to them. Through his audacity and cunning, he alone brought Israel’s enemies to their knees. He was the one who overturned the paradigm that made Israel a victim of global disarmament. Israel is now free to express its desires, which it does only for the time being. Because of his dedication to his historic cause and saving the Jewish people, no rule or law should apply to him. Why vote for someone else if he doesn’t do all of that and declares his overt supporters (thereby echoing the thoughts of his covert ones)? They do, however, hardly ever differ from him in any way. No leader of the Jewish “opposition” has ever proposed a strategy that was in line with what Netanyahu has already accomplished. They all support Israel’s right to “destroy” Hamas and use its absolute discretion to attack any other “enemy.” Palestinian Israeli parliamentarians are prohibited from attending “coordination” meetings by them, and Netanyahu will be replaced by a “Zionist” (read “fully Jewish”) government. Netanyahu may be to blame for Israel’s declining international standing, but none of them agree with Israel’s handling of the genocide and destruction of Gaza. Less than 18 months apart, the two “opposition” leaders who served as prime ministers also did so. Netanyahu has served as prime minister for almost 20 years. He has a bit of a cad and may be a little crazy, but overall, he’s pretty good. He is still superior to any self-styled heir to his business acumen.

The conclusion is straightforward. Netanyahu is not just Israel’s most effective politician. In Israel, he is the only politician. Expect him to lead the largest party and serve as prime minister if an election is called in the upcoming months if he is not charged with any crime. God was the first to use the phrase “there is none like Him.” Netanyahu is the only one available to Israelis of all political stripes.

Just one day after Israeli and Lebanese civilian officials had their first direct discussions in decades, an Israeli bombing destroyed a building in southern Lebanon. One of the at least four communities that was hit on Thursday is the village of al-Majadel.

The main obstacle to peace is Russia’s view of Ukraine’s refusal to accept its terms for a ceasefire.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is reportedly blocking a truce, as claimed by Kyiv and many of its European allies.

A delegation from the United States flew to Russia on Tuesday for five hours of behind closed doors discussions with Putin. Steve Witkoff, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, and Jared Kushner, the group’s leader.

Yuri Ushakov, a Putin aide, acknowledged that “a lot of work lies ahead.” He described the meeting as “very useful and constructive.”

He said there was “no compromise” had been reached on territorial issues, calling Ukraine’s desire to join NATO a “key question.”

Since Moscow launched a full-scale assault on Ukraine in 2022, Ukrainian officials find Russia’s position absurd. Given the ongoing bombing of Ukrainian cities, they think Putin has no real interest in achieving peace.

Ilya Budraitskis, a Russian political scientist and visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, reported to Al Jazeera, “These negotiations did not end in success, as was expected. They are based on fundamentally different ideas about what is happening between the Americans and the Kremlin.”

Putin doesn’t really care about the American effort to sell the idea of peace resting on the exchange of territories. He wants to alter Eastern Europe’s entire security system.

Russia’s “unreliable counterpart”: an analyst

However, some Russians support the Kremlin’s point of view and use similar expressions.

The Kyiv regime’s “progress toward a peaceful settlement,” “factual distortions, and attempts to delay the inevitable,” said Spartak Baranovsky, a political scientist and member of the Moscow-based Digoria Expert Club, a think tank whose positions largely align with those of the Russian government.

The Ukrainian side rejected the initial conditions of the Istanbul peace agreement after refusing to implement the Minsk agreements. He told Al Jazeera, “It is really difficult to strike up a productive conversation with such a lacked trustworthiness.”

In order to end the conflict in Donbas, where separatists supported by Russia were fighting the Kyiv government, the Minsk agreements were a number of treaties that were signed in 2014 and 2015. Numerous meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Belarus and Turkiye, all of which failed to bring about peace, took place after the full-scale invasion of 2022.

Russia’s general optimism that the war will end is palpable despite the lack of detailed information from this week’s meeting.

Tatyana, a 60s businesswoman from Saint Petersburg who declined to provide her full name, believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s European allies have pushed him to prolong the conflict.

What has the world come to when Trump, the only person who appears to be acting rationally in this situation, is by nature utterly insane? she inquired.

“Everyone is now in for a much worse situation. The advantage is obviously on Russia’s side, which the crude American generals and everyone else understand, despite the fact that a decision needs to be made.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, announced on Tuesday that Russian troops had finally taken control of the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, putting an end to a two-year siege. In recent months, Ukraine’s forces have struggled to stop Russia’s advance in a number of regions despite the country’s claim that the city has fallen.

The proposed terms of an agreement that are being discussed include that Ukraine should withdraw its troops from the areas of the Donbass region, which will become a neutral demilitarized zone but be recognized as Russian territory internationally. The Crimean Peninsula and the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, which have been under Russian or pro-Russian rule since 2014, will also be recognized as Russia. Ukraine’s military capacity is set at 600,000, and it must abandon any plans to join NATO, but its application for EU membership will be taken into account.

Russia must also make a pledge not to invade any more European nations, which must be stipulated in its constitution. Additionally, a proposed war crime amnesty is proposed.

Putin stated last week that if Ukrainian troops leave the areas they occupy, the plan could serve as the basis for future agreements. We will accomplish our objectives militarily if they don’t.

According to sources, Ukrainian negotiators told their US counterparts over the weekend that giving up any territory was not a possibility.

Can Russia sustain itself for a long time?

Putin fully comprehends that Ukraine is in the dead of a long stretch, according to Washington, DC-based Russian economist Vladislav Inozemtsev.

Putin is therefore very confident in everything. He has some time. He has a year or two to fight. The West’s motivations and willingness to fight are more at fault. Yes, he is willing to wait until his conditions are met, but not until Ukraine is exhausted and given up.

Putin raised the stakes by threatening Europe before Tuesday’s meeting.

He warned that if Europe wants to and begins, we are prepared right now, even if Russia is not.

Putin will be preparing for this, just like he did before 2022, according to Budraitskis of the University of California, Berkeley, who said that the opposite was true when he said that Russia was not going to attack Ukraine.

Inozemtsev and Baranovsky both agree that Russia can continue to pursue a war effort indefinitely despite their divergent viewpoints.

“It’s not a problem at all to fight for years at such an intensity,” said Inozemtsev.

“We saw more problems than there are now because they needed to be mobilized, they now receive a fairly high salary from them, and [new volunteers] are constantly enlisting,” says one veteran. Additionally, they experienced issues with weapons, and some, particularly active commentators, predicted that shells would run out in three months. In fact, there is a greater level of munitions production now than there was before the war.

According to Inozemtsev, “the Americans are very determined to end this war or completely withdraw from any support for Ukraine.”

He added, “I believe that Kyiv has now been clearly informed of this.” The Ukrainians will therefore be persuaded that they are incapable of saving them, according to the statement. In the sense that, if the Americans are now completely eliminated, Europe will, of course, have no money or the willpower to continue to support this cause for years.

According to Inozemtsev, a deal might still be in Ukraine’s interests.

“In fact, this is the solution to the problem,” he said, “if they are able to guarantee themselves 600,000 for the army and a break for at least a few years.”

Putin will always be a threat, according to Putin, and the West’s main task will always be to surpass Putin’s 73-year-old. If the fighting lasts three to five years, he is already on the verge of passing away, which naturally lowers his moral standards.

Russian economic benefit will be benefited by any potential peace agreements and the lifting of sanctions, but Inozemtsev and Budraitskis doubt that things will turn around in the country in 2022. According to their forecasts, society will continue to be heavily militarized and tightly controlled.

Because we no longer have a direct threat from abroad, Budraitskis said, “There can be no peace, no return to a normal situation in which all these measures that correspond to a full-fledged repressive totalitarian dictatorship will be abolished.”

Putin’s regime in Russia was designed in this way, including how his power was organized, how his government operated, and how there was an endless war where Russian elites were consolidated under the flag and how any dissidents were subjected to repression inside the country.

He continued, citing the “normality” that Putin “established” in Russia after 2022 as an integral component of “war in any form” against Ukraine, Europe, the Baltic states, or “anyone.”

He predicted that the war would continue on various fronts to allow this regime to remain.

Some Russians have already made a long-term commitment.