Professor Entessar: Netanyahu has Biden cornered between rock and hard place

Nader Entessar, Professor Emeritus of Political Science from university of South Alabama says that Netanyahu has Biden cornered between a rock and a hard place.

News ID: 5277

Date: 19 October 2024 - 15:05

TABNAK –Nader Entessar, Professor Emeritus of Political Science from university of South Alabama says that Netanyahu has Biden cornered between a rock and a hard place.

“Biden has demonstrated his ineptness or unwillingness to Change Israel's policies in the war in Gaza,” Entessar told TABNAK News Agency.

Following is the full text of interview with Professor Entessar:

Q: Israel announced that it had killed the Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an operation. What effect does his death have on the future of Hamas? Does Hamas rely on individuals?

A: Although organizations like Hamas are not structured hierarchically like a conventional military unit or organization, and thus they do not rely on individual leaders as much as a traditional military force does, there is no question that successive killings of leaders of Hamas will have a debilitating impact on the organization's short-tern military efforts.  Serial killings of prominent members of Hamas also may have negative psychological consequences, at least in the short-term, on the morale of the organization.

Q: After Sinwar was killed, Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the mission continues. Meanwhile, Biden has announced that he will talk to Netanyahu so that the issue of the exchange of prisoners and the ceasefire in Gaza will be on the agenda. Will Netanyahu attend?

A: Netanyahu has Biden cornered between a rock and a hard place.  Also, Biden has demonstrated his ineptness or unwillingness to Change Israel's policies in the war in Gaza.  If anything, by opening the spigot of arms and money, Biden has given the necessary green light to Netanyahu to do whatever he wishes in Gaza and beyond.

Q: Kamala Harris also announced that with the death of Sinwar, it is time for a ceasefire. The families of Israeli prisoners also want to exchange prisoners. It seems that the issue of Sinwar's death has increased the pressure on Netanyahu to stop the Gaza war. What do you think?

A: I don't think so.  I think Yahya Sinwar's killing will embolden Netanyahu to press harder in Gaza because he and his war cabinet think that Sinwar's killing will bring them closer to their single-minded obsession; which is the destruction of Hamas and Israel's absorption of the entire Palestinian territory and even beyond.

Q: How will the killing of Sinwar affect the US presidential election? Will it improve the position of the Democrats?

A: The US presidential election is about three weeks away, and neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can realistically try to score meaningful points this late in the game.  Besides, both Harris and Trump have similar hawkish positions toward Palestine.