The Israeli prime minister’s repeated threat of seizing territory in Gaza if Hamas fails to release the captives is a sign of “desperation” rather than an indication of an imminent plan to invade the enclave, according to Israeli political commentator Ori Goldberg.
“Netanyahu is desperate on many fronts,” Goldberg told Al Jazeera. “The Americans are not in a rush to provide a green light and there are a lot of fears among Israel’s top brass that the tens of thousands of soldiers needed to carry this out will not materialise when the time comes.”
Goldberg said Netanyahu was “besieged domestically” by widespread popular protests, especially after approving a controversial state budget and repeated attempts to pass judicial reforms.
“I doubt Netanyahu sees this as the right time for a significant Israeli move,” the analyst added. “He’s talking the talk, but I very much doubt that he has the resources, the energy and the political capital both domestically and in [Washington] DC to walk the walk.”
