The Madness of King Bibi

Netanyahu's expansionist Gaza strategy risks devastating civilian lives, deepening conflict, and potentially triggering Israel's political and social downfall.

- JOHN DOBSON

Love him or hate him, Benjamin Netanyahu is an extraordinary politician. Known as Bibi to his friends and enemies alike, Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has survived crisis after crisis. His nickname "King Bibi" reflects his long political reign, charismatic authority, and central role in shaping Israel's domestic and foreign policy. Although known for the ability to survive repeated political crises, however, many are beginning to believe that his latest announcement to expand the war against Hamas in Gaza is sheer madness and will bring Bibi's reign to a crashing end.

Not only that, as head of the most right-wing, most Zionist government the country has ever seen, Bibi could well go down in history as the one who brought about the beginning of Israel's demise. It's all to do with his pursuit of policies and political positions which have had devastating impacts on Palestinian lives. Critics, including many human rights organizations, accuse him of pursuing policies that amount to apartheid or collective punishment, particularly in Gaza and the West Bank.

Since he first became Israel's youngest prime minister in 1996 at the age of 46, Benjamin Netanyahu has done nothing to solve the Israeli-Palestinian issue. In fact, by repeatedly rejecting Palestinian sovereignty and insisting on Israeli control over all disputed territory, King Bibi has effectively killed the political feasibility of the two-state solution under his tenure. This stance places him at odds with much of the international community and with those, including many Israelis, who continue to hope for a diplomatic solution to Israel's problems. Palestinians have lived in the region historically known as Palestine for thousands of years, long before the modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict in which Netanyahu is a major player.