On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks stated that while he’s not a huge fan of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “over the last month, he’s gone against world opinion and American opinion on a whole range of issues, and he’s been absolutely right” in a way that has “served world peace” by weakening terrorist groups, and so those calling for him to declare victory in the wake of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar should accept they don’t have the same intelligence as Israel and Netanyahu has “been making some right calls over the last month.”
Brooks said, “I’m no big fan of Bibi Netanyahu, but I have to admit, over the last month, he’s gone against world opinion and American opinion on a whole range of issues, and he’s been absolutely right. They have seriously weakened Hezbollah. They’ve now seriously taken out the leadership — now almost the complete leadership of Hamas. So, these are two Iranian-backed terror militias. And, sometimes, in war, you have to defeat your enemies. So, he’s made them weaker. Obviously, there’s still going to be Hamas. There’s still going to be a very powerful Hezbollah. But he’s made his enemies weaker. And, in my view, that’s served world peace.”
Brooks continued, “Now, is this a moment for him to turn the corner and now say, okay, we won? I have some sympathy with that view, but I confess, unless you have access to Israeli intelligence and know how much of Hamas is still there, I don’t think we can know that. And, frankly, I’m not — I don’t think any Americans could know that. And I don’t like trusting Bibi Netanyahu, but he’s been making some right calls over the last month.”
Later, Brooks argued that, on a two-state solution, Netanyahu is standing in the way of peace.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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