'Vengeance won't solve conflict': 1948 Palestinians denounce Israel's war time government

Political rivals in Israel formed a war-time Cabinet five days following a stunning attack on Saturday, October 7, by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters on Israeli army bases and settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip.   

Following the highly awaited announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to "crush and destroy" Hamas with the support of a longtime opposition critic, Benny Gantz. 

Gantz previously served as the Minister of Defense from 2020 to 2022 and occupied the role of Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2015.

The war has already claimed at least 2,400 lives on both sides.

Hamas leaders said the attack on Israel came because Palestinians' suffering had become intolerable under unending Israeli military occupation, increasing settlements in the West Bank, violations in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza.

Commenting on Israel's new war-time Cabinet, former Arab MK Sami Abu Shehadeh said, "There are deep divisions within the Israeli society, but there's [always] a consensus against Arabs and Palestinians. The present situation makes it easy for such a deal to emerge". 

The Cabinet, which will focus only on issues of war, will be led by Netanyahu, Benny Gantz and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. A former chief of staff and another government minister were named as "observer" members.

Before the outbreak of hostilities, opposition leaders in Israel accused Netanyahu of being inept to lead, dangerous and corrupt. 

Abu Shehadeh told TNA that Palestinian citizens of Israel are "against the war", stressing that Israel must understand that there is no solution without a just and complete solution to the Palestinian problem. 

"Netanyahu's government won't be able to stay in power after the war, and  Israel won't be able to claim victory despite all of the destruction and vengeance it carries out", he added.  

According to critics, Prime Minister Nentanyahu's ultra-nationalist religious coalition was having a major crisis with the US administration over controversial judicial changes that sparked months-long protests, adversely affecting governance and military preparedness. On the other hand, Benny Gantz has good standing with the US administration.  

However, the perception is that a broad unity government would shift responsibility away from Netanyahu once the conflict concludes. Instead, the blame would be collectively shouldered by the new government, which includes opposition members.

"In the end, the Israeli government will have to deal with the fact Gaza will not disappear and millions of Palestinians will not disappear". 

Azzam Abu Sou'od, a Palestinian activist from occupied East Jerusalem, believes the ongoing fighting will result in a "complete view change", bringing "the Palestinian cause centre stage after years of neglect". 

Abu Sou'od told TNA that Hamas will not be "decapitated", noting it has some 30,000 trained fighters in the Gaza Strip and a force in the occupied West Bank, which has not yet been activated. 

On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the region for talks with Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian officials. 

Talks are centred on the efforts to release prisoners and humanitarian corridors in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken promised that the Biden administration and Congress would work together to meet military requests for Israel, which enjoys broad support across party lines.

On Tuesday, United States President Joe Biden confirmed that Americans were among the captives. 

"Blinken is worried about Americans held in Gaza", Abu Sou'od remarked. 

Blinken will travel to Amman on Friday to meet with King Abdullah of Jordan and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.  

There are doubts, however, about whether Abbas has enough influence to stop the fighting.