Containing Hamas is a bad but legitimate strategy

Key Findings:

Although Benjamin Netanyahu's policy of containment towards Hamas is discussed as a failure, the author argues in this essay that it was a legitimate strategy supported by the majority of the Israeli public.

Netanyahu is expected to argue before the inquiry commission that the failure on October 7 was due to security issues that he could not foresee as PM, and not a collapse of the containment strategy. The inquiry commission will focus on security failures rather than the broader diplomatic and political context, which the author argues is the only path to a true solution.

The failure to pursue a political accord with the Palestinians is argued to have perpetuated the need for containment. However, the commission will not address the lack of Israeli initiative to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians, and the public's preference for the perpetuation of the occupation over a political accord will also not be questioned. 

The only option for Israel will be to improve the maintenance of the occupation and the containment strategy, as its citizens are unlikely to vote for a diplomatic path forward with the Palestinians.