The man who does not tire of killing

This man does not tire of killing. It is his job and perhaps his calling. He does not believe in talking about peace. The only rival he can trust is a dead one. “Peace” is an odd word in this thorny part of the world. What they call “peace” is at best a form of fragile truce. It is an open arena to fuel spite and sharpen knives. To deepen spite and incoming blows. Handshakes do not fool him and smiles do not put him at ease.

The enemy is the enemy; yesterday, today and tomorrow. Kill him or be killed. The bare amount of coexistence means he should fear you and know that harassing you means “opening the gates of hell.” He recalls that Donald Trump has used that expression to intimidate his enemies and rivals.

Benjamin Netanyahu likes Trump. He likes strong men. Democracy sometimes needs a strong man, who breaks the mold and stirs calm waters. He does not always believe that work is the product of a team. Even if there were a team, this man would break the silence and the rules.

The spirit of resistance in France was not awakened by a team, but by a man called Charles De Gaulle. The spirit of the British nation was not stirred by a team, but by a man called Winston Churchill. The arrogance of Argentine generals was not broken by a team, but by the will of an iron lady called Margaret Thatcher. Netanyahu deludes himself into believing that he is part of a team of saviors.

Netanyahu likes Trump, but he senses that his next moves are difficult to predict. He is a hurricane that can change course without warning

Ghassan Charbel

He likes Trump, who has been generous with him. The powerful bunker-buster missiles that Joe Biden had deprived him of now lie in Israeli warehouses. His position on Hamas and Hezbollah is almost identical to his own. And what about the Houthis? They are now being targeted by American fighter jets.

Moreover, he has not forgotten that Trump was the one who ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani. It would have been difficult for any other president to take such a dangerous step. The decision to kill Soleimani was much more dangerous than the one to kill Osama bin Laden. Trump killed the man who had planted in four maps a massive number of tunnels, rockets and drones, along with several militias that ceaselessly drone “death to Israel” and “death to America.”

Biden’s America was generous with him when the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation took place. The president dispatched his fleet and America drew a red line for Iran and its allies, warning them of the dire consequences of crossing it. He now recalls that he had banked on Trump’s return to the White House because Biden had occasionally tried to stop the Israeli war machine or at least rein in its mad savagery.

Netanyahu likes Trump, but he senses deep down that his next moves are difficult to predict. He is a hurricane that can change course without warning. He is a moody player who does not like to join a game without coming out on top and with the final say. He defies his rivals but then extends his hand to them. He threatens them one day and showers them with compliments the next. He makes odd calculations with allies and enemies alike.

The most dangerous thing about him is how far he can go in his enmity once he is angered. He makes his opinions known in his social media posts and his televised speeches. He carries out negotiations on social media and fires in all directions, inside America and beyond. He is a difficult man. It is as if he is taking it upon himself to reshape America and the world. He does not acknowledge red lines and does not hesitate in dismissing the most reputable judges and courts and most prestigious universities.

Netanyahu keeps tabs on Abbas Araqchi and Steve Witkoff. He believes that Israel allowed the US to join the negotiations with Iran from a position of strength. Araqchi used to represent an entire axis and carried the keys of the four capitals that Soleimani had lured to his country’s crescent. Where is this axis today? Bashar Assad is in faraway exile in Russia. Vladimir Putin may have given him asylum, but nothing more. Where is Hassan Nasrallah, who used to believe that the Radwan Force could infiltrate deep into Galilee? Where are Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and dozens of other leaders?

He does not want to return from the war. His instructions to the negotiators are clear: always leave some margin for the war to erupt again

Ghassan Charbel

Of course, we must not forget everyone who was assassinated by American weapons and that the US-made planes were the ones that allowed Israel to uproot the Iranian Revolutionary Guards from Syria and close the chapter of the axis.

He does not want to return from the war. These kinds of wars do not end, even if the negotiators pretend to agree to a truce or a ceasefire. His instructions to the negotiators are clear: always leave some margin for the war to erupt again. The most important thing is pleasing Washington, not ending the war. It is important to ensure that Trump does not believe that his image has taken even the slightest hit.

He closes his eyes. It is not enough to cut off the head of the factions. He must go to the source. He must break the will of the country of the supreme leader. And so, he hopes that Trump will accompany him in this dream, despite the doubts of some of his advisers and their recommendations. He cannot deliver a strong strike to the Iranian nuclear program without the participation of the US and its blessing and pledge that it will confront the consequences of the blow.

He does not neglect the skill of the Iranian negotiator or his patience and readiness to simply wait. So, he fears that Araqchi will come up with a formula that will lead Trump to believe that he has succeeded without sliding into a military confrontation with Iran. With such a scenario, Tehran can simply wait for Trump’s successor.

The Gaza war has not satiated his hunger for killing. Neither did the war on Lebanon. He wants the “mother of all battles” with Iran. He tells himself that it is not enough to cut off the arms and that he must directly confront the head. As he waits for Trump to make up his mind, he will continue to order his jets to strike and kill here and there. He is a man who does not tire of killing.

• Ghassan Charbel is editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. X: @GhasanCharbel

This article first appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat.