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Paul Ronzheimer is the deputy editor-in-chief of BILD and a senior journalist reporting for Axel Springer, the guardian firm of POLITICO.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vehemently denied accusations he allowed Qatar to fund and strengthen the militant group Hamas with a purpose to divide Palestinians into rival political camps, slamming the claims as “ridiculous.”
Netanyahu’s opponents in Israel argue his authorities spent years actively boosting Hamas in Gaza by permitting Qatar to channel tons of of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to the coastal enclave in a dangerous recreation of “divide-and-rule,” that was meant to play the Islamist militants from Hamas off towards the Palestinian Authority within the West Financial institution.
“It’s a giant lie that I wished to construct [up] Hamas. Ridiculous,” Netanyahu mentioned in an interview with Axel Springer, POLITICO’s guardian firm. “You don’t go to battle thrice with Hamas or do main army operations if you wish to construct up Hamas.”
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a number one instance of a politician who takes that model of occasions with a pinch of salt. “Within the final 15 years, Israel did all the pieces to downgrade the Palestinian Authority and to spice up Hamas,” he beforehand advised POLITICO. “Gaza was getting ready to collapse as a result of they’d no sources, they’d no cash, and the PA refused to present Hamas any cash. Bibi saved them. Bibi made a cope with Qatar and so they began to maneuver thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of {dollars} to Gaza.”
Most incriminatingly, Netanyahu himself mentioned in 2019 at a Likud social gathering convention: “Anybody who needs to forestall the institution of a Palestinian state must assist strengthening Hamas.”
Netanyahu on Tuesday, nevertheless, dismissed these fees, claiming he solely allowed Qatari cash to move into Gaza to keep away from a humanitarian disaster, to not strengthen the arm of the administration there.
“We wished to keep away from a civilian humanitarian collapse — illness, rampant starvation and different issues that may have created an inconceivable humanitarian scenario,” he mentioned. “That’s why successive Israeli governments allowed this cash to go in, not with a purpose to strengthen Hamas. We didn’t need to strengthen Hamas in any respect. We wished to weaken it and degrade its capabilities so far as we might.”
Israel and Hamas are on the fifth day of a fragile truce — which has to this point allowed for the discharge of 69 of the 240 hostages taken by the militant group throughout its October 7 assault.
However all eyes at the moment are turned to the “day after” and what the top of the truce will imply for Israel and Gaza.
Netanyahu mentioned Israel would preserve its aspect of the truce so long as Hamas retains its, however he famous that Hamas would nonetheless must be destroyed after the cease-fire ends.
“Make no mistake: we will proceed our army efforts to eradicate Hamas, as a result of Hamas says very clearly that it’ll repeat the savagery again and again and over,” he mentioned.
And after Israel has defeated Hamas, he mentioned, the purpose shall be twofold: to de-militarize and de-radicalize Gaza.
“Our purpose is to guarantee that Gaza doesn’t revert to the sort of horrible risk it was to Israel earlier than the battle,” Netanyahu mentioned.