Netanyahu pushed back on the idea of the Palestinians running Gaza

A “colossal breakdown” of the security apparatus: The father’s son and the israeli security apparatus — the story of Tibon

Tibon took care of himself that day, after he raced south. He said he passed bodies and burned-out cars on the road. A young couple emerged from the bushes after escaping a Hamas attack during a rave party outside. He gave them a lift. At another location, Tibon said that he fought a gun battle himself. He fought to get to his son’s house.

He says he has never been a political man. He devoted his life to the Israeli security apparatus, and witnessed a “colossal breakdown” on that day. And there’s one person he blames.

“I tried the chief of staff, the southern commander and the division commander but they didn’t reply to me,” the 62-year-old tells NPR.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas: The Battle for Israel and the Fate of Gaza in the Aftermath of the September 11th Israeli-Israel War

A cross border assault by Hamas in October killed about 1200 people and led to the beginning of a war between Israel and the group. Israel wants to bring the hostages back to Israel, and dismantle Hamas’s ability to rule Gaza in order to do so.

A majority of Israelis want Netanyahu to step down. The pro-Netanyahu newspaper published an editorial calling for the premier’s removal after the war. The polls taken last month showed Netanyahu would lose if elections were held now.

In power for most of the past 16 years, Netanyahu has long portrayed himself as tough on security. But critics say he strayed from that focus, and gambled with it.

The Israeli government is of the opinion that Mr. Netanyahu’s weak stance would be made worse if Mr. Abbas were to take over the Gaza Strip from Hamas.

The reform of the judicial system in Israel, which Netanyahu initiated in the first half of the year, caused big street protests and divided Israelis.

It was all a diversion from Israel’s own security. Some Israelis disliked Netanyahu’s policies, but now they’re all against the prime minister.

The municipal official in the south of Netanyahu’s party resigned on live TV over the course of a week.

“I place the blame on the Israeli government. I call here on all my friends, members of the Likud Central Committee, to take a similar step, in view of this incredible failure,” said Tamir Idan, head of the Sdot Negev Regional Council, waving his resignation letter.

Israel’s defense minister, the military chief of staff, and Shin Bet head all accepted responsibility for security failures.

Netanyahu admits mistakes were made. He said that the responsibility of a government was to protect the people.

The prime minister says there will be an investigation — and that he’s happy to answer questions himself — but only after the war is over. At news conferences, he’s nevertheless been asked repeatedly about whether he plans to resign.

“The only thing that I intend to have resign is Hamas,” Netanyahu told an Oct. 30 gathering of foreign reporters. “We’re going to resign them to the dustbin of history.”

One of the slogans from protests earlier this year over Netanyahu’s judicial reforms — “Lech ha bayta,” meaning “Get out” in Hebrew — has been repurposed at fresh demonstrations in recent days. Protesters gather at Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu’s supporters say that the left-wingers who led previous rallies are the same people who led the previous rallies against the prime minister. And they say the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks were not the prime minister’s fault.

At a recent rally in Tel Aviv, Tsipi Haitovsky, the neighbor of a family with several members among the hostages, told NPR she wants Netanyahu to resign immediately.

But she says the hostage families are divided. They’re privately criticism of Netanyahu, Haitovsky says. Many people have been hesitant to speak up. Even some of Netanyahu’s fiercest critics say war is not the time for political recriminations.

Netanyahu is banking on Israelis not wanting to change leaders during a war, says Mazal Mualem, an Israeli political analyst and the author of a biography called Cracking the Netanyahu Code.

Mualem says Netanyahu is pragmatic — a realist. He believes he’s got a window of opportunity to salvage his legacy while the war is underway, she says. Because he knows his premiership is unlikely to survive beyond that.

Netanyahu‘s comments on the September 7th Hamas attack in Gaza and Israel’s future with the West Bank and Judea and Samaria

I knocked on the window to let him know I was there. And my little granddaughter, 3 1/2 years old, said ‘Grandpa came!'” Tibon recalls. “And you know, that was the greatest moment of my life.”

He and his family were locked in their basement during the Hamas attacks. But Tibon says an immediate change of Israeli leadership is the only way to ensure no other family goes through what he did.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, said on Sunday that the only force that could take military responsibility for Gaza after the war was the Israeli Army, and that they didn’t see any future role for the Palestinian Authority.

His remarks appeared to be somewhat at odds with the Biden administration, which last week made it clear that there should be no Israeli “re-occupation” of Gaza. After the war, the Secretary of State left the possibility of a transition period, but said that eventually Gaza needs to include Palestinian-led governance and unification with the West Bank.

When asked about a possible hostage deal, Mr. Netanyahu said that it could be, but that the less he talked about it, the more likely it was to happen. Israeli representatives have been having talks with some people outside the country.

In addition to the lack of condemnation, Netanyahu pointed to the teaching of hatred of Israel to children and payments to attackers who killed Israelis, all of which are common accusations against the Palestinian Authority.

The Israeli prime minister said the October 7th massacre proved that Israel does not have security control. “In the end it comes back to hit us, and that is also true of Judea and Samaria,” he added, referring to the West Bank by its biblical names.

Mr. Abu Rudeineh added that stability would only be achieved by ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state in those areas.