The Gaza war is about more than Binyamin Netanyahu’s political fortunes

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Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s refusal to end the Gaza war is about much more than avoiding a reckoning that could end his political life and potentially land him in prison.

No doubt, Mr. Netanyahu has a personal interest in prolonging the war. But reducing the drivers of Israeli policy to the prime minister’s interests neglects the far greater stakes invested in a permanent ceasefire.

Agreeing to a permanent ceasefire and an end to the war would shape international and Palestinian efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in ways much of the Israeli polity rejects, despite the public clamour for the prioritizing of bringing Hamas-held hostages home.

Mr. Netanyahu’s vow to continue the war until Hamas is defeated militarily and politically, irrespective of one’s attitude towards the group, is an attempt to break the backbone of Palestinian rejection of more than half a century of occupation and weaken Palestinian national identity.

It also is an effort to reconstitute the Palestinian polity in ways that would allow for the emergence of a leadership that would be subservient to Israel rather than represent Palestinian national aspirations.

Mr. Netanyahu recognises that ending the war without destroying Hamas would constitute a victory for the group.