WHEW.
😂 A little backstory before sharing this link. Haaretz used to be the dominant pub in Israel before Netanyahu's rich buddy bankrolled a daily free pub that could promote Likud talking points, so there is NO LOVE LOST for Netanyahu in this institution of a paper, which hosts POVs across the spectrum but definitely skews left of centre.
You could've guessed that, though, from the title of its lead editorial today:
"Passover in Israel: The Ten Plagues of Netanyahu"
At first, Biden tried to hug Netanyahu so tightly with allyship, in the hope of being a voice of reason and saving US lives.
But Netanyahu and his Likud Party are Revisionists, a form of Zionism that is highly militant and mission-driven, and his far-right coalition is filled with religious extremists who see escalating war as a fulfillment of prophecy.
At present, Netanyahu is using the threat of expanded regional war *as a tactic* to keep the US on board as an ally.
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@QueenOfEverything
This is why the US recently offered to support the Rafah invasion if Netanyahu would chill out on Iran. It knows that Netanyahu can escalate regional conflict in ways that would require US investment in the long run, to protect Israel from threats its own gov't is exacerbating. The US is therefore stuck making short-term concessions that amount to complicity in atrocity, and the best it can do is try to sanction IDF units & violent settlers.
It's a real quagmire right now.