All this is to make us forget Netanyahu's enormous responsibility for the fiasco, his criminal conduct in the first nine months of 2023 when his government tried to weaken the judiciary, his contempt for the warnings by Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet. (Both also failed in the moment of truth.) Above all, we have seen Netanyahu's systematic foiling of every hostage deal since January.
On Thursday evening, some people expected a different take from him regarding the hostages. They thought that maybe behind the scenes he was instructing his negotiators to place a bold proposal on the table. Blessed are the believers.
Ultimately, there are grounds for the families' fears that what has been will be, that the last word will come out of the mouths of Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. So if you expected Netanyahu to show some magnanimity, to rise above himself and announce that he plans to submit an outline for achieving a cease-fire, freeing the hostages and transferring control in Gaza, you've been proved wrong.
We almost forgot the main thing. An end to the war, a return of the hostages and calm in the region would help Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump. So what's the rush?