India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Former Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad believes that most of the blame falls personally on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the Hamas attack.
In an interview with a youtube channel, he said that Netanyahu, in order to save himself from criminal prosecution, took a series of initiatives that have harmed Israeli and Palestinian interests, leading to the present situation.
Rejecting the argument “the attack by Hamas was unprovoked is self-delusionary,” he said that because of Israeli depredation, Hamas has become much more popular.
He mentioned that last year, more than 200 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces and this year by August 2023 the number was over 250 Palestinians dead.
A former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, Mr Ahmad said, “The people of Palestine are shocked by the government in Tel Aviv. The Israeli government is committed to expanding settlement in the West Bank. They have been deliberately provoking and disrupting prayers at the Al Aqsa complex. This had been building up for some time.”
He discussed that Netanyahu had been around for more than twenty-five years and is Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister who is “an extremely wily and cunning leader.”
Mr. Ahmad said that all the elections from 2019- five of them- have been around Netanyahu, whether he should be in government or not, “but the Israeli political order has not put up a government that can get rid of him.”
He discussed the elections held in November last year and said, “They had a very strange result where there was a swing in favour of the extreme right and then again Netanyahu showed his cunningness. He formed his extreme right-wing government.” A government, according to the former ambassador, that compromises all the fundamental principles of good order.
The former diplomat explained that such people were marginal earlier but they had now become part of the mainstream.
According to Mr. Talmiz Ahmad, “They are the ones determining polity. Because Netanyahu has criminal issues, he has to face prosecution. If he was not in power, he could have been in jail. So, he needed to form the government and become the Prime Minister.”
He talked about thousands of Israelis demonstrating every week against the so-called judicial reforms after February this year. “All those reforms are directed at diluting the effectiveness of the judiciary, and ultimately protect the Prime Minister from prosecution and jail.”
About the response of the Israeli government, Mr. Ahmad said that for this beleaguered government in Tel Aviv, there has to be extreme rhetoric. “They have promised large-scale killing but this is not new. Israel has been doing this for several decades. Every time there has been an attack on Israel, they have retaliated and killed a huge number of people. They have killed 20-30 Palestinians for every Israeli dead. Israel does not give a damn about anybody.”
He said that the frustration, sense of humiliation, and sense of being insulted on a daily basis, give the Palestinians the strength to constantly resist occupation even if it means their own death and destruction.
About the Israelis under Hamas captivity, Mr, Ahmad said, “We are calling them hostages but some of them could be prisoners as Netanyahu has declared war.” He called the prisoners of war as a game changer in the dialogue between Hamas and the Israeli government. He declared that they are a very crucial factor.
He said that Netanyahu was desperate to ensure his longevity. “He needs to kill a fairly large number of people. He needs to target at least certain of the Hamas leaders so that he can show his people that he is the statesman and military leader.”
He said that Israeli prisons are full of Palestinians and almost every Palestinian has experienced prison at some stage of life.
He pointed out that he had seen the systematic maligning of Hamas as an abuser with a focus on individual cases. He said, “I would not rule out that if Netanyahu continues the assault even endangering the lives of those prisoners of war or hostages. He is a very dangerous man. His principal focus is his personal survival.”
Discussing the difference between Gaza and the West Bank, he said, “People of the West Bank are severely angry and very bitter but it is controlled by Israeli security. The Israelis have taken preemptive action and killed thirteen people in the West Bank and warned them of any violence.”
He said that It remained to be seen whether this gambit would be successful or the rage of people would triumph. He said that the difference between Gaza and the West Bank was that there was no Israeli presence in Gaza while in the West Bank, there was Israeli security.
Mr. Ahmad opined that the narrative that will be shaped by the Israeli and the American right wing is to bring in Iran; the Iran factor. “Iran factor is one that unites the American establishment. Therefore, bringing in Iran as a factor would be very useful camouflage for the mistakes made by the government and intelligence.”
He said that Iranian support and Iranian involvement were two different things and that there was no Iranian involvement.
He ruled out any national unity government as the opposition leaders wanted Netanyahu to shed affiliation with the extreme right. But Netanyahu cannot afford to get rid of the right wing.
Mr Ahmad is of the view that it would be easy for the Israeli army to get into Gaza but very difficult to come out of Gaza.
He sees it as an extraordinary irony that Israel cannot fight Hamas even for a day without new American equipment coming in. The most militarily equipped country in West Asia cannot fight a day without the Americans!
On the role of India, he said, “India is not a serious strategic role player in the region. Therefore, if it makes any remark they are largely for domestic consumption and have no effect on West Asia whatsoever.”
He asked, “Who is the mediator for one hundred Israelis in Hamas custody?” He hoped that Egypt and Qatar would be possible future interlocutors who could play a significant role in any possible truce.
