Israel’s latest terrible war

Official portrait of Israel's 9th Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu

Michael Hirsh has just published a withering review, in Foreign Policy, of the lead-up to horrific war now underway between Israel and Hamas entitled “Netanyahu’s Road to War”.

Hirsh argues convincingly that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has, over an extended period: malevolently undermined all Palestinian peak bodies; artfully wooed Arab states; and (more recently) attempted to emasculate the Israeli judiciary.

He says that this new war it set to be “ugly, bloody and long” – exposing Israeli troops to “extreme danger for years to come”. Meanwhile, that wooing-strategy “may well be in a shambles.” Hirsh also observes that: “The best-laid plans of prime ministers and presidents often go awry. But rarely do they backfire as thoroughly as they have for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”. One is left with the impression that Netanyahu runs scant risk of ever gaining a reputation for acting in good faith.

This candid, informed article repays careful reading.

 

Read the full article here:

Netanyahu’s Road to War

Richard Cullen is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. He was previously a Professor in the Department of Business Law and Taxation at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.