Netanyahu faces doubts from Israeli military leaders over war in Gaza

Nick Schifrin:

So how significant is this public criticism by the military of the prime minister? And how does it play into the diplomatic tensions between Netanyahu and the Biden administration?

For answers to that, we turn to Laura Blumenfeld, a former senior policy adviser on the State Department’s Israeli-Palestinian negotiating team and currently a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Laura Blumenfeld, thanks very much. Welcome to the “NewsHour.”

So, how significant is this public military criticism of the prime minister?

Laura Blumenfeld, Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies: I think it’s very significant.

I think the IDF recognizes, while they may be winning militarily, they’re losing morally, and that has long-term strategic implications for Israel’s security.

This idea of indecision, I think what they’re saying to the prime minister is, take a position and defend it. The prime minister cannot be an undecided voter. We need you to support our ask for Ultra-Orthodox fighters. Our forces are depleted.

Number two, we have a political horizon that we’re looking for that we can aim for militarily, and we don’t want to occupy the Gaza Strip after the war. I remember spending time with the last military commander of Gaza before Israel withdrew, and he wore what I recall was the Gaza mask.

It was this combination of dust, sweat, and the smell of regret. We rode around in a Jeep while kids were throwing stones at him, and he said: “This is the most morally corrosive thing for our state and ultimately for our security.”