Netanyahu may have taken this approach further than any other Israeli leader but he is hardly an outlier. Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest serving Israeli Prime Minister, has made sidelining and ignoring Palestinian demands for freedom and dignity his mantra and legacy. Instead of investing in a strategic vision for solving its conflict with the Palestinians, Israel has invested its strategic energy into consolidating more military might and control. Even before Hamas’s surprise attack, 2023 was already the deadliest year for both Israelis and Palestinians in over 20 years. Some Israelis, shaken by trauma and helplessness, have called on their government to recognize the common humanity of those on the other side of Gaza’s security walls.
