Little room for optimism
Those looking for positive signs in the emerging internal rifts in Israeli society should not be too optimistic. In reality, Israeli society is, in fact, far more hardline than Netanyahu, unified by a desire to erase the traumatic events of 7 October and, with it, the Palestinians and their cause altogether.
Anti-war voices in Israel are negligible, and while applauded in some academic circles, these views are disconnected from Israeli public opinion and Western policymakers. Despite having the world's fourth most powerful army in the world, Israel continues to portray itself as the victim in the situation, and indeed, many Israelis have internalised this victimhood narrative.
Israel has successfully deployed this narrative over the years, securing it much sympathy and support, particularly from the US.
For example, when Egypt and Syria launched the 6 October 1973 war on Israel, which caught it off guard, the US was quick to rush to Israel's defence. Similar support systems continue to provide Israel with substantial military and intelligence assistance.
This suggests that Western support for Israel is not solely based on its strategic role in the region but also heavily informed by what happened to the Jews at the hands of Nazi Germany.
The Biden administration's stance professes a commitment to Western democratic liberalism and points to Israel as the only true democracy in the Middle East.
And while Western politicians are unlikely to outright back the Palestinian cause, popular pressure throughout the course of Israel's brutal onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza has forced many to tone down their extreme support of Israel's actions — particularly the cutting off of food, water, electricity, fuel and medicine which amounts to collective punishment.
A message with past echoes
Mohammed Deif, the leader of Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades message to the Palestinians, bears striking similarities with the rhetoric used by the Fatah movement 58 years ago at the dawn of its inception.
Addressing Palestinians in territories occupied in 1948, as well as the West Bank, Jerusalem, and allies in Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, Deif urged: "Today, anyone with a gun should use it, for the time has come."
"Those without guns should wield their machetes, axes, or Molotov cocktails. Use your trucks, bulldozers, or cars ... Today is the day of a grand revolution to end the last occupation and the world's last apartheid regime."
