Afrasianet - Raed Salha - Palestinian researcher Ramzi Baroud has warned that the Palestinians may be the "weaker party" paying the price for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political and military decline, as the crises he faces escalate on more than one regional front.
This came in an article published by Baroud on progressive American media platforms, including the "Common Dreams" website, where he noted that Netanyahu is facing "the most fragile moment of his political life," in light of growing criticism inside and outside Israel, even from within the former state institutions.
According to the article, Baroud quoted former Israeli officials as explicit admissions of the failure of the Israeli strategy in more than one arena, with former Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon saying that "Israel has not won in Lebanon, in Iran, or against Hamas."
He also referred to statements by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who criticized Netanyahu's crisis management, arguing that Israel's political decision has become too tied to the United States, which has weakened Israel's strategic capability.
Baroud believes that Israel's ruling coalition, which includes far-right figures such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has taken advantage of Netanyahu's political weakness to pass tougher policies toward the Palestinians, especially in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The article points out that Netanyahu has turned the ongoing state of war into a tool for political survival, which was reflected in a broad military escalation in the Gaza Strip, ongoing tensions in Lebanon, and an open confrontation with Iran, which pushed the region to the brink of a wider escalation.
But the author warns that this model is coming to an end, and that any decline in Netanyahu's ability to manage these fronts could prompt Israel to shift the pressure further toward the Palestinians in the West Bank, as the "weakest and least politically costly" arena.
In this context, Baroud points to reports by the international organization Oxfam, which documented the martyrdom of 1,244 Palestinians in the West Bank since 2023, including 268 children, in addition to escalating waves of displacement.
He also pointed to an Amnesty International report documenting the displacement of dozens of Palestinian Bedouin and pastoral communities between 2023 and 2026, in light of the expansion of settlements and the confiscation of land.
Baroud warns that Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich has put forward plans to annex about 82% of the West Bank, which he says reflects the transition of annexation policies from rhetoric to actual implementation on the ground.
The article concludes that the decline of Netanyahu's political position may not lead to a truce, but perhaps to further escalation against the Palestinians, especially in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, unless the international community and Arab and Muslim states act to contain this trajectory and prevent a wider explosion.
