If I were living in Israel I’d be pretty upset too. Here we are, 50 days into Operation Protective Edge, and the rockets keep coming. People in Southern Israel are running for their lives on a daily basis and now that a little child has been killed, it’s all the worse.
And I wake up this morning only to hear more talk about a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas? I thought Hamas was going to pay for the death of little Daniel Tragerman.
Yeah, I can see why Netanyahu’s approval numbers are in serious decline:
TIMES OF ISRAEL – A poll released Monday evening showed a massive drop in the Israeli public’s opinion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s performance, as well as dissatisfaction with the way the government is handling the needs of southern communities battered by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
The poll, commissioned by Channel 2 and conducted by Shiluv Millward Brown, showed that on August 25 — 49 days into Operation Protective Edge — only 38 percent of Israelis “supported” Netanyahu, while a full 50% were dissatisfied, according to a Monday news report.
The number represents a steep decline for Netanyahu and shows a steady deterioration over the course of Operation Protective Edge. According to the poll, just four days previously, on August 21, his approval rating was 55%; and three weeks previously, on August 5, his approval rating stood at 63%.
On July 23, shortly after the start of the ground operation in Gaza aimed at destroying Hamas’s “terror tunnels,” Netanyahu’s approval rating was 82%, according to Channel 2.
Don’t get me wrong now. I have the utmost respect for what Netanyahu is dealing with in terms of the heavy hand of the international community (including Obama and the White House) versus the daily onslaught of rockets from Hamas. But a true leader does what he has to do protect his people and if that means taking out Hamas then by all means take them out.
But perhaps this bend towards ceasefires is just a foreshadowing of the major ‘peace’ agreement that we all know is coming between Israel and its Islamic foes. I don’t know.
Either way, anything short of defeating Hamas and other terrorist forces in Gaza will only mean this battle will be postponed in the future. And that’s why people in Israel are upset.