From the Liveblog of
Monday, February 3, 2025
The Democrats chair Golan blames Netanyahu for Hamas’s recovery in Gaza via ‘policy of neglecting security’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saved Hamas by declining to advance an alternate government for the Gaza Strip, Yair Golan alleges.
Speaking with reporters ahead of The Democrats’ weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Golan says that the terror group’s “recovery in Gaza is a direct result of Netanyahu’s continued policy of neglecting security.”
“His refusal to introduce a governing alternative to Hamas in Gaza stemmed from his preference for Smotrich and Ben Gvir in the coalition over the safety of the hostages and soldiers, thereby allowing Hamas to continue to control the Strip and restore its status. I want to be clear: The IDF severely damaged Hamas, but Netanyahu, who did not care about an alternative government, saved it. Hamas needs to be eliminated – not saved,” Golan says.
“Victory over Hamas will not be achieved solely through military force – it requires a complementary, determined and strategic move in the regional arena. As long as Hamas remains the sole governmental address in Gaza, any achievement on the battlefield will be temporary, and a future military campaign is only a matter of time.”
Welcoming the pending appointment of Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir as the next Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Golan says that the senior officer will have to both rehabilitate the armed forces and engage in a “struggle against a corrupt and corrupting political echelon, which has abandoned the security of the country in favor of political interests and the pursuit of power.”
The Times of Israel Community.