Netanyahu's Ceasefire Bluff: Why Are We Still Surprised?
The mainstream hand-wringing over Netanyahu supposedly 'blowing up' a Gaza ceasefire, as reported by The Intercept, conveniently sidesteps decades of historical precedent. This isn't a new act; Netanyahu has consistently scuttled peace efforts when politically convenient – recall his sabotaging of the Wye River Memorandum in 1998, or his repeated rejection of two-state solutions during his many
tenures. The real 'face' lost is that of any international body or US administration that ever believed Netanyahu was genuinely interested in anything other than consolidating power and expanding settlements, often funded by generous US aid packages. For instance, the US provided an estimated $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel in 2023 alone. Instead of focusing on Trump's 'face,' perhaps we
should ask why the US keeps funding a government demonstrably hostile to peace, using taxpayer dollars that could address pressing domestic issues. How many times must the Israeli government unilaterally reject peace proposals before our media and politicians see a pattern, not just an isolated incident? One might wonder if the approximately $4.3 million in donations from pro-Israel groups and
individuals to Congress since 1990 (OpenSecrets.org) has anything to do with this perpetual astonishment. It's not a ceasefire being 'blown up'; it's a playbook being re-run, with predictable outcomes.