Israel followed two opposite policies toward Hamas since Oct. 7: destroy the organization and make a deal with it. This unfortunate two-track approach resulted in many costs to Israel. The killing of Ismail Haniyeh Wednesday perhaps marks the end of this protracted indecision.
The former policy, victory over Hamas, has wide appeal and is articulated often by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I count 182 mentions by him of "victory" in 63 discrete statements. "Our victory is your victory," he said June 6 on French television. "Our victory is the victory of Israel against antisemitism. It is the victory of Judeo-Christian civilization against barbarism. It is the victory of France."
Mr. Netanyahu speaks of "complete victory," "total victory," "clear victory," "absolute victory," "decisive victory" and "full victory." He wore a "Total Victory" baseball cap on his flight to the U.S. last week and at his visit with Donald Trump.
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But Mr. Netanyahu also pursues the latter, opposite policy: negotiate with Hamas and permit it to survive in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. ... [To read the full article, please go to wsj.com.]
Mr. Pipes is president of the Middle East Forum and author of Israel Victory: How Zionists Win Acceptance and Palestinians Get Liberated.
July 31, 2024 additions: (1) Interestingly, Dan Perry offers an opposite interpretation to mine of the Haniyeh and another Israeli assassination (of a Hezbollah figure in Beirut): "Netanyahu could leverage these assassinations as a way to bow to this pressure without appearing weak, hypothetically accelerating the negotiations to end military hostilities and bring home the remaining hostages."
(2) On cue, Eyal Kalderon, a cousin of Hamas captive Ofer Kalderon, states that "The hostages must be the first priority. Then we will make sure to bring justice and take care of all the terrorists in the world, but the hostages need to be the first priority."
Fortunately, Tzvika Mor, cofounder of the Tikvah Forum for Families of Hostages and father of Hamas captive Eitan Mor, says otherwise: "Israel's enemies should know that we are strong, and we are not afraid of them. Doing things like this will make them realize that we are ready to fight this war. I think this is a very positive development."