Editors at National Review Online expect the federal government to respond to a recent terrorist action.
President Biden’s reaction to the Hamas execution of six hostages, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was emblematic of the incoherent mess he has made of U.S. policy toward Israel since the terrorist group massacred over 1,200 in the October 7 attacks. In a Sunday statement following the Israeli discovery of the bodies, Biden warned, “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.” Yet by the next morning, Biden told reporters that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t doing enough to secure a cease-fire and that his administration was working toward a new “final” deal that would no doubt provide more concessions to Hamas — in effect, rewarding the terrorist group for its latest acts of brutality.
The murder of the hostages has also added fuel to the already-hot political environment within Israel. Massive protests took place in Tel Aviv to demand that Netanyahu agree to a cease-fire deal that would bring the remaining 100 or so captives home from Gaza. Also, the country’s largest union ordered a general strike that risked shutting down Ben Gurion Airport. The strike did end up disrupting schools, transportation, and hospitals but was called off by a court after a few hours.
It is worth putting these protests in context by remembering that in leading Israel for most of the past 15 years, Netanyahu has gained many domestic political enemies. Before the October 7 attacks, the prime minister faced regular protests over his pushing to restructure the nation’s judicial system. In the wake of the attacks, there was also fair criticism of the intelligence and security failures that allowed thousands of Hamas members to enter Israel and terrorize southern communities surrounding the Gaza border for hours. Over time, Netanyahu’s failure to show accountability has earned more enmity.
There is also a more complex issue, which is the tension between the goals of destroying Hamas and bringing all the hostages home.
