WORLD ROUNDUPHamas’s Devastating Murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and more
· Hamas’s Devastating Murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin
How Netanyahu failed the dead hostages
· Lessons the German Center Must Learn from AfD Election Surge
The hard right has gained momentum and the mainstream parties are in denial — but the country is not heading back to the 1930s
· Russia ‘Changing Nuclear Rules’ in Light of Western Support for Ukraine
Deputy foreign minister said talks on rewriting nuclear doctrine were at an advanced stage, as hardliners urged President Putin to ‘sober up’ NATO
· Taiwan Dares China to Seize Land from Russia
President says Beijing’s stance on island is about power, not principle, otherwise it would demand back territory signed away in the 19th century
Hamas’s Devastating Murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Franklin Foer, The Atlantic)
As the war grinds toward its end, Hersh’s murder will haunt Israeli dreams—and Netanyahu’s legacy. In a moral sense, culpability rests entirely with Hersh’s depraved executioners. But Netanyahu behaved grotesquely when presented with opportunities to secure his release.
More than once this summer, the Biden administration brought Hamas and Israel within range of a deal to release the hostages and end the war. On some of these occasions, Hamas has thrown up obstacles, knocking the talks off course. But in moments where Hamas looked inclined to agree, Netanyahu wrecked the possibility of an agreement by insisting on new conditions. Frustrated with the prime minister’s tactics, the Americans leaked documentary evidence of his intransigence to The New York Times.
Just as damningly, Netanyahu’s own defense minister has blamed him for scuppering a deal. In a cabinet meeting this past week, Yoav Gallant excoriated him for insisting on new conditions that Hamas would never tolerate—that effectively guaranteed that the hostages would remain in jeopardy in Gaza. Gallant reportedly chastised him, “There are living people there.”
Netanyahu refuses to push toward yes because he doesn’t want to face the consequences of agreeing to a deal that far-right members of his cabinet have vowed to reject. He’s reverting to lifelong patterns of behavior: dithering in the face of a hard choice, excessive deference to fanatical political bedmates, the elevation of his own survival above every other consideration. And now, a beautiful young man and five other hostages will return from Gaza in bags—lives horrifically truncated when they could plausibly have been saved.
Lessons the German Center Must Learn from AfD Election Surge (Oliver Moody, The Times)
Hours before the polls closed in Saxony and Thuringia a social media parody account dedicated to Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, posted a bingo sheet of stock responses to the result: “no assigning blame”, “things can’t go on like this”, “we can’t just move on to our daily business”. (Cont.)
