After the punitive measures against the Palestinians.. What are Netanyahu's calculations for the next stage?

The researcher specializing in Israeli affairs, Adel Shadeed, described the punitive measures taken by Benjamin Netanyahu's government against the Palestinians as very dangerous, targeting not only the fedayeen and their families, but also the popular environment that embraces the Palestinian resistance fighters who carry out operations against the Israelis.

The Israeli security cabinet, headed by Netanyahu, took punitive measures against the Palestinians, including facilitating the granting of weapons licenses to Israelis and strengthening security measures in settlements.

Shadid said that Netanyahu's decisions took two dimensions, part of which will be implemented by the government and its agencies, and part that has not been announced, which is what is being done by settler gangs that have burned dozens of Palestinian homes, vehicles, and agricultural fields over the past 24 hours, which are attacks that are carried out with political cover by extremists in Netanyahu's government, especially the minister Israeli National Security Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

And he considered - in his speech to the episode (29/1/2023) of the "Beyond the News" program - that the danger in the Israeli punitive measures is that they do not only target the fedayeen and their families, but rather the popular environment that incubates the Palestinian resistance fighters who carry out operations against the Israelis, stressing that the occupation demolished - In the midst of the developments taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories - 14 houses in the West Bank and farmers are prevented from going to their fields.

With his assertion that Netanyahu is trying to pass what he called the most difficult test in his government with minimal losses, the researcher specializing in Israeli affairs indicated that he - that is, Netanyahu - is very concerned with developing the relationship with Washington because of some files, led by Iran, but he made it clear that the US administration will not meet with the extremists' project. In the Israeli government, headed by Ben Gvir and Smotrich, because it realizes that this project will lead to the end of the Palestinian National Authority, whose survival is an American interest, in addition to that any change in the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque will complicate stability in the region and affect relations between Jordan and Israel.

Blinken will listen to Netanyahu

On the American side, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will try during his visit to Israel to know Netanyahu's policy of governance and what he intends to do regarding the current situation, and if he will communicate with the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, according to what was revealed by the former US State Department spokesman, Ambassador "B." J. Crowley" for "Behind the News".

Blinken arrived in Cairo in the context of a tour that includes the Palestinian territories and Israel, with the aim of discussing the escalation in the Palestinian territories, easing tensions, the historical situation in Jerusalem, the two-state solution and other files.

For his part, CIA Director William Burns continues his discussions as part of a tour that includes talks with Israeli officials, before moving to Ramallah to meet Palestinian political and security leaders.

Crowley said that Netanyahu wants to deal with extremist elements in his government, although it wants to escalate tension in the Palestinian territories, stressing that Blinken will listen to Netanyahu about how he deals with matters to determine the type of relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv under the new Israeli government.

In his readings of the status of the Netanyahu government, Amir Oren, a political and military analyst for national security affairs and Israeli foreign policy, confirmed that there are divisions within this government that does not have the support of half of the Israeli electorate, considering that it is not in Netanyahu's interest to escalate on the Palestinian front, and described punitive measures against the Palestinians. They are empty initiatives that will not produce results, nor will they change the equation or prevent the Palestinians from carrying out their operations.

He said that Tel Aviv's targeting of Iranian facilities is linked to the Russian war on Ukraine, which is a positive point for Washington, given that Russia imports drones from Iran.

Today, Sunday, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that the drone strike that targeted last night a military facility in Isfahan (central Iran) was carried out by Israel.