CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s much-awaited speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday was pure political theatre. It was particularly aimed at addressing the constituencies in the US and Israel, making it clear to them that Israel was not going to end the war against Hamas unless its objectives were met.
Netanyahu had vowed to destroy Hamas. He said that if Hamas retook political power in Gaza, it would regain its military strength, too, and would attack Israel again, a risk he did not want to take.
Netanyahu’s speech conveyed the sense that he was not yet prepared for negotiations. There have been efforts by Egypt, the United States and Qatar to put an end to the war, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. But Netanyahu, it seems, wants to finish off Hamas once and for all.
“Israeli forces have destroyed 90% of Hamas’ rockets and killed or captured half of its forces,” he said. Peace will be back in Gaza only after Hamas is destroyed completely, he said. The only other way to end the war, in his view, was for Hamas to surrender unconditionally and return all the remaining hostages.
While Netanyahu sounded uncompromising on Hamas, he did not rule out negotiations completely regarding the ongoing operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, Hezbollah has been attacking Israel, using rockets and missiles.
