Sinwar's knockout victory over Netanyahu
Opinion: Every round of fighting with Hamas only serves to further illuminate how empty the prime minister's policies are when it comes to our enemies in the south, and how incapable he is of solving the problem of Hamas once and for all
"We are back in control of the situation," Benjamin Netanyahu said as he departed from Washington on Monday, as if there had been an event back home that demanded his urgent care.
For doing what he actually did in Gaza, Netanyahu could have definitely stayed in the US, delivered his AIPAC speech and given an interview in his fancy English. Even Immigration and Absorption Minister Yoav Galant could have handled the events in Gaza, such as they were.
Five years have passed since 2014's Operation Protective Edge. Five years in which our "Mr. Security" has not done a single thing to match the achievements of the military operation on the political Level.
Instead, he has let Hamas' leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar do whatever he pleases. For when Sinwar wants peace, there is peace, and when he wants war, there is war. Everyone in Gaza must surely be familiar with Netanyahu's drill by now: We bomb them, they rocket us, and the prime minister agrees to a cease-fire.
For years - and especially in the past year - residents of the south have been living through a never-ending nightmare of uncertainty. No one in Netanyahu's government cares for them.
It is absurd for southerners to wish for missiles on central Israel merely so that warplanes will be ordered out of their hangars. Even in the midst of the latest round of hostilities they offered to withstand rocket attacks and stay in shelters until Hamas was defeated.
The residents of southern Israel have learned from bitter experience. They too know that "Mr. Security" has nothing to offer. And what is worse is that he has no desire to resolve the situation in Gaza.
Which has led is to where we are now. For not wanting to do anything leads to an enemy on the other side of the Gaza fence that is only getting stronger, is not afraid to launch rockets of ever-increasing range, and is more than familiar with Netanyahu's habit of delivering a blow from the air, flexing his muscles and rushing to declare a cease-fire.
The only good thing that can be said about Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza mess is that he doesn't let the show drag on for too long, and quickly ceases fire. He knows that there no clear end to this movie and therefore prefers to shout "cut" after the first scene.
When Netanyahu signed the 2011 deal for the release IDF soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas captivity, he probably did not predict that one of the prisoners he freed for the hostage - Yahya Sinwar - would become the bitterest of rivals and lay bare his inability to protect his country.
Sinwar brought a new kind of leadership to Gaza and turned Hamas into an organization that calls the shots. On the other side, Netanyahu has lead Israel to a policy of retaliation and instead of initiation.
As of now, in the battle between Netanyahu and Sinwar, the latter has won by a knockout. He is teaching his people and the rest of the leaders in the region that you can launch rockets at Israel and ultimately ou will get a suitcase full of money. Every time Sinwar does this, he further erodes Israel's standing, and further illuminates how empty the prime minister's policies are when it comes to our enemies in the south.
Netanyahu was probably walking the red carpets of the White House and embracing the leader of the free world while Sinwar was hiding in a tunnel from Israeli airstrikes. But while Netanyahu may have been playing a winner on TV, the real victor was not him.
