There is a timeless proverb from China. “The more a monkey climbs, the more he shows his tail.” However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not seem to pay attention to the lessons of history or the wisdom of such folklore.
Israeli leaders are further exposing their country’s vulnerabilities by leading a slanderous campaign against Egypt. This is another example of Israel’s inability to change the political reality of Gaza.
By targeting Egypt, Israel aims to project an image of its skill and not be afraid to stand up to the most populous Arab state. But in doing so, it accidentally exposes its own weaknesses. This behavior is perfectly in line with Netanyahu’s legacy of advancement.
Long before October 7, 2023, Netanyahu was riding a wave of political happiness. At the time, his climb to unforgiving heights seemed justified. His global Southern diplomacy has reversed decades of isolation in Israel, and his success in gaining international recognition without paying a significant political price has led him to great popularity at home, continuing to win elections after the election.
His latest extreme right-wing coalition secured a comfortable majority in the Knesset and almost faced a pushback. Extremists were trying to transform Israel from within, reconstruct the region and position Israel as a global power that ordered respect and authority with the usual, unconditional support from the United States.
However, Israel’s catastrophic failure on October 7th and all sides exposed Netanyahu’s tail as a failed leader.
The crisis quickly manifested in global rage as Israel waged a massacre war against the Palestinians, killing and wounding mainly women and children for over 15 months. The Israeli Tail was further exposed as a once-confident leader had pledged to rebuild the Middle East to fit the Israeli agenda.
However, Netanyahu climbed even higher and doubled his approach. He insisted on continuing the war in Gaza, maintaining military presence in Lebanon, and conducting frequent, large-scale bombing campaigns in Syria.
Bravad aside, Netanyahu has failed to achieve the purpose Israel has stated through a catastrophic war with Gaza, where Israel is sacrificing unprecedented losses and casualties. Meanwhile, the division between political and military elites is deepening. The latest manifestation of this is the firing of many senior military officers and the sorting of the troops to match Netanyahu’s political ambitions.
The more exposed Israel’s vulnerability, the more threat Netanyahu and his allies pose a greater threat not only to Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, but also to Egypt. In fact, Egypt is not a party of war, but one of three intermediaries in the ceasefire talks, and is a major target for Israel’s new strategy aimed at ethnically cleansing Gaza’s population into the Sinai Desert.
How did this come about?
Egypt was not a factor in the Israeli war with Gaza. However, I remember that there is no chance of a “complete victory” in the genocide, and that high-ranking Israeli officials began pointing their fingers in Egypt, and Israel was referring to a peace treaty.
The idea of taking over the Philadelphi Corridor, which separates Rafa in southern Gaza from the Egyptian border, was first raised by extremist finance minister Bezalelsmotrich. Others, including Netanyahu himself, quickly began parroting the same words. The media has aroused more premonitions, accusing Egypt of not doing enough to arm Hamas or stop the flow of weapons into the Palestinian resistance.
When Egypt refused to file an Israeli charge and responded to the occupational regime’s wish to ethnically cleanse Gaza, Israeli leaders began talking about Egypt’s military threat, claiming that Egypt was gathering troops at its border with Israel.
The original purpose of leading Egypt to Israel’s failed war was to distract him from the battlefield. But ultimately, the distraction turned into Egypt’s bias and denunciation for Israel’s inability to win the war or to drive away the Palestinian Gaza population.
To some extent, Netanyahu managed to make Egypt a part of his conversation in Gaza.
With President Donald Trump repeatedly proposing Palestinians to move and buy Gaza, Israeli leaders ultimately felt he had a clear American commitment to export Israeli issues elsewhere.
Air Rapid, the leader of Israeli opposition, distracted him by using Egypt to seriously challenge Netanyahu’s rule. On February 25, Rapid suggested at a meeting in Washington that Cairo should oversee the strip for years.
Palestinians, Arabs and others responded angrily to the Israeli and the US ethnic cleansing schemes, but few people have paid attention to the fact that historically Israel has never asked for permission to ethnically cleanse Palestinians. This was just as true today among the Nakba in 1948. Pressuring Arab countries to acquiesce on Israel’s ethnic cleansing programmes is the most powerful sign of Israel’s weakness.
Aside from harsh stories and threats, Israel feels more vulnerable than at any point in its history. It is clear that they are currently using Arabs to hide their own vulnerabilities. And while the monkey continues to climb, his tail has never been exposed as much as it is today.
Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and editor of the Palestinian Chronicle.
Source: Middle East Monitor