Relatives carrying the bodies of children from the same family killed in Israeli raids on Rafah, south of Gaza (French)

Israeli writer Gideon Levy says that after 150 days of war in Gaza, Israel is no better off than it was, nor is it safer or more popular, nor does it have a greater degree of deterrence, nor are its people more united or proud of themselves.

In an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Levy called on every Israeli, after all these days of war, to ask themselves honestly about the condition of Israel.

He said that the days that passed were harsh and difficult, and they did not do anything for the benefit of Israel and will not do so, neither in the short nor in the long term.

On the contrary, he added, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) emerged stronger. “Yes, thousands of its fighters were killed, but it became the champion of the Arab world.”

However, Levy says, most Israelis want at least 150 more days of disaster, as no public opposition to the war has emerged even after 5 months of death and destruction on an unprecedented scale, and after Israel has become a pariah, hated around the world, stained with blood and damaged. economically.

The darkest

He continued to say that there is not a single area in which Israel is better off after these past few dark months, the darkest in its history.

It has become less secure, and faces the risk of regional escalation, global sanctions, and loss of American support.

It is also much less democratic - because the damage the war has done to Israel's democratic institutions is greater than even the judicial coup - and the accumulated damage will remain after the army withdraws from Gaza.

As for Israel's international situation, it has never been an outcast like it is today, even its guaranteed relations with the United States have deteriorated to a low level it has never witnessed before.

Levy pointed to the daily killing of soldiers, the continued detention of most of the detained prisoners, the internal displacement of tens of thousands of Israelis, the transformation of half of Israel into a danger zone, the threat of explosion in the West Bank, and the endless hatred for Israel, which nothing can hide in Gaza, the West Bank, and the Arab world. .

The future is not promising

He said that the future does not bode well for a breakthrough or improvement as long as Israel stubbornly rejects every proposal for fundamental change.

He described the condition of the Israelis who want to continue the war as that of a gambler who has lost all his money, but is still convinced that another bet will win him the grand prize.

He described the situation of Israelis who are convinced that killing more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza will turn the Strip into a paradise, or at least a safe place, as mere blindness and moral ambiguity that has never happened, even in Israel before.

The writer returned to asking what gains Israel had gained, and asked the Israelis to courageously ask themselves the following questions: Was it necessary to go to war after putting slogans aside?

Slogans such as how could any country ignore such a cruel attack on its people, the right of the country to protect itself, and what the people wanted Israel to do.

He replied that everything would get worse.

Source: Haaretz