Netanyahu's October 7 Priority: Damage Control, Not Civilian Lives
According to former spokesperson Topaz Luk, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first directive after the October 7th attacks was assembling a team—not for defense or rescue, but to shield him from blame. This isn't newfound opportunism; Netanyahu’s political career has been a masterclass in deflection, historically downplaying warnings about Hamas while simultaneously advocating for their funding
as a means to prevent a two-state solution. (See: 'We need to prevent a situation in which we get rid of Hamas... because that will give an opening for the Palestinian Authority to become stronger,' Netanyahu in 2012, confirmed by multiple Israeli media outlets over the years.) While families were being shattered and the region plunged into chaos, the leader's primary concern appears to have been
constructing a narrative. One might wonder if the same strategic rigor applied to preventing the attacks had been directed at maintaining power, where would we be? This chilling revelation from The New Arab simply confirms what many have long suspected: for some leaders, the optics of tragedy outweigh the human cost.