Israeli Evasiveness: A Strategy for Managing War
The article analyzes Israeli policy in negotiations to stop the war in Gaza, arguing that the main obstacle is evasiveness and buying time, not the absence of proposals. It notes that Israel reopens files and raises new conditions to prolong negotiations, using them as a tool to ease international pressure and entrench facts on the ground. The article criticizes the lack of Israeli political will to end the war and warns of the risks of leniency with this policy for the credibility of mediators and the international community.
The article examines ongoing negotiation tracks regarding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, concluding that the main obstacle is not the absence of proposals but the continuation of Israeli policy based on evasiveness and buying time. Whenever mediators approach formulating implementable understandings, the occupation government reopens previously agreed files or raises new conditions, aiming to prolong negotiations without reaching a real end to the war. The article considers this evasiveness part of the Israeli political doctrine in conflict management, where successive Israeli governments use negotiations as a tool to ease international pressure and give themselves time to entrench new facts on the ground, whether through military operations, expanding buffer zones, or imposing security arrangements. It notes that the Palestinian side has shown clear flexibility on many files, including administrative issues and arrangements for managing the sector, based on the priority of stopping the war and protecting civilians, while Israel continued to change negotiation priorities and shift the dispute from one issue to another. Benjamin Netanyahu's government benefits from this policy on two levels: presenting itself to the international community as engaged in de-escalation efforts, and maintaining the cohesion of its coalition by reassuring the far right that any agreement will not limit the army's freedom or impose a full withdrawal. It also bets on the time factor, believing that the continuation of the siege and humanitarian pressures may change the balance of negotiations. The article warns that leniency with Israeli evasiveness gives the occupation an opportunity to thwart any understanding, turning agreements into political papers lacking implementation mechanisms, and calls for serious international pressure to implement agreements rather than merely sponsor them.