Why the "hamas could end this at any time" excuse doesn't work

[Alent2]

1. Ex-U.S. Ambassador To Israel Says Netanyahu Should Step Down Amid War In Gaza

Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, on Sunday called for the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the leader poses a “clear and present” danger to his own country as the war in Gaza continues.

Indyk cited a report by The New York Times detailing how Netanyahu allowed and “encouraged” payments of millions of dollars every month from Qatar to Gaza for years, believing it would help ensure peace in the territory as he and others wrongly surmised that the Hamas militant group wasn’t interested in or capable of hurting Israel.

An official in Netanyahu’s office said many Israeli leaders have allowed payment to flow to Gaza, but only for humanitarian purposes. “Prime Minister Netanyahu acted to weaken Hamas significantly,” the official told the Times. “He led three powerful military operations against Hamas which killed thousands of terrorists and senior Hamas commanders.”

Netanyahu also reportedly made the political calculation that if Hamas was in power in Gaza, while the Palestinian Authority governed in the West Bank, he would be able to avoid entering talks about Palestinian statehood, the Times said. Netanyahu has previously denied the suggestion, calling the idea that he would want to help Hamas build strength “ridiculous.”

Netanyahu “needs to resign before he does even more damage to Israel,” Indyk wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/martin-indyk-benjamin-netanyahu-israel_n_6576fc9be4b0881b7917de25