After Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, the country initially experienced a huge wave of sympathy and solidarity from around the world. But as long as the war in the Gaza Strip continues with a large number of civilian casualties and serious material destruction, the more isolated Israel seems to be worldwide. The terrorism of Hamas and the war have simultaneously caused a massive wave of anti-Semitism that causes great fear among Jews around the world. The request for the issuance of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallad by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ICC in The Hague seems to be hurting Israel’s image. There is now a daily debate in the country about how to overcome this. Many Israelis feel they are being treated unfairly.

Israel’s prestige is affected

If the International Criminal Court accepts the request for the arrest warrants, Netanyahu’s freedom of movement will be significantly restricted, especially in Western countries. However, Professor Jonathan Reinhold, head of the politics department at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv, points out that the opposition in Israel is also of the view that the ICC’s stance is “outrageous”. This is also the position of the USA. “Even European countries, which usually support the court, called the equating of the terrorist organization Hamas with the democratic state of Israel a mistake,” Reinhold said. The imminent recognition of Palestine as a state by Norway and the two EU countries, Ireland and Spain, is seen as another diplomatic blow to Israel. Netanyahu condemned the move as “rewarding terrorism”. The Israeli newspaper Jediot Achronot described the European countries’ decision as “evidence of the serious deterioration of the international reputation” of the Jewish state. Everywhere one looks, things look tough for Israel.

Relations with its most important ally, the US, are strained, the deployment of ground forces in the border town of Rafah is seen as a threat to the peace treaty with Egypt, while Israel also faces charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice. Additionally, there are pro-Palestinian and in some cases anti-Israeli student protests at universities in the US and Europe. At the Eurovision in Malmö, Israeli candidate Eden Golan was met with hate speech. For its part, Turkey has blocked trade with Israel and more than 1,000 Hamas members are being treated in the country’s hospitals. Israeli academics, artists and athletes are also protesting these actions. Netanyahu’s responses to international pressures sometimes seem almost defiant.

“If we have to stand alone, then we will stand alone,” he said after US President Biden threatened to reduce the number of weapons because of the Israeli advance in Rafah. “If necessary, we will defend ourselves with our claws,” he said characteristically. Protests against the Netanyahu government flared up again inside Israel. Protesters accuse the prime minister and his far-right coalition partners of leading Israel into the abyss. They demand the immediate return of more than a hundred Hamas hostages and new elections.

Is there a way out?

Netanyahu appears trapped between his personal political interests, with the extreme right guaranteeing his political survival and the broader interests of the country. The radical statements of his political partners have repeatedly landed him in trouble and are fodder for Israel’s critics. Nevertheless, Netanyahu rarely distances himself. Professor Reinhold considers the behavior of the Israeli government, which for months has not exhausted its possibilities to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, as one of the reasons for the country’s isolation. “This has offended our friends, the US, the UK and Germany,” he explains. “But public opinion is certainly less important to Netanyahu than staying in power and serving his political base and his far-right coalition partners.”

Is there a way out of this mess for Israel? Jonathan Freeman, an international relations expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, believes there is room for improvement. “If there is an agreement (with Hamas) to release the hostages, the war will probably end, although Hamas remains a significant threat,” he argues. Freeman sees the involvement of moderate Arab states as a possibility for a post-war order in Gaza. The fact that Netanyahu has so far stubbornly refused to talk about “the next day” in the Gaza Strip is causing great frustration among Israel’s allies as well as moderate members of the government.

“We need a new government,” Reinhold believes. At the same time, he sees the victory over Hamas as an absolute necessity. “We must complete the operation in Rafah. We must bear all the wrath directed against us.” After that, Israel must make a real effort to establish a Palestinian administration in the Gaza Strip with a new government “that will be better for the Palestinians and better for the Israelis.” It must engage with the Palestinian Authority “and pursue an agenda that will ultimately lead to a two-state solution.” Yet this is exactly what Netanyahu stubbornly refuses to do.

Editor: Irini Anastasopoulou