Israel News, Sunday, 30.11.2025  
  Netanyahu’s accountability cannot stop on October 7, 2023, nor at the Israeli side of the Gaza border. Letting him off the hook for what Israel did in Gaza is no less defining for Israel’s future as it seeks to rebuild itself after his long and destructive rule  David Issacharoff


 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a very wanted man, is facing several major reckonings: from Israeli state prosecutors over corruption, from the Israeli public over abandonment and from the international community over alleged crimes against humanity.

It’s easy to follow Netanyahu’s example and downplay the corruption allegations as simply about “cigars, champagne and an article and a half in Walla News,” especially when compared to the crimes he will likely never stand trial for: his responsibility for the failures leading up to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s destruction of Gaza under his command.

In a video he posted on Sunday, Netanyahu explained to Israelis why he is formally requesting a presidential pardon, and through thinly veiled cynicism spoke of “national unity” for a nation he has torn apart. He looked as exhausted as the country that has endured the devastating domino effect that has devoured it since he was indicted in 2019.

From unprecedented political crises and five elections, to a political comeback heading an extreme far-right government; from a declaration of war against Israel’s judiciary, to a declaration of war against Israel itself by Hamas.

“You can’t devour a country and expect it to remain whole,” wrote Yonatan Shimriz on Sunday, the brother of the hostage Alon, who was killed by IDF fire in Gaza. “You can’t be a defendant in four criminal cases, be responsible for the worst failure in the country’s history, get a pardon, and still remain prime minister. There’s no such thing.”

Many Israelis like Shimriz, who seeks justice for his brother, see Netanyahu’s pattern of evasion and its devastating effects. As such, the protest movement against the prime minister has evolved since his indictment. Today, in spite of Netanyahu’s resistance, the movement demands a state commission of inquiry into October 7, seen by bereaved families as the critical signifier of what kind of country Israel will become.

But a day before Netanyahu requested to end his trial, two reminders emerged of his latest crime: the Gaza Health Ministry announced that 70,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began. About an hour earlier, two Palestinian children, aged 10 and 12, were identified by the IDF as “suspects” and killed in a drone strike after crossing into the Israeli-controlled zone of Gaza while collecting firewood. They are among the 354 Palestinians who have been killed by Israeli fire since the cease-fire took effect on October 10.

In addition to corruption, Netanyahu must pay a price for overseeing the horrifying and enormous death toll in Gaza, together with the allegations laid out by the International Criminal Court – of war crimes and crimes against humanity – when it issued a warrant for his arrest. His accountability cannot stop on October 7, 2023, nor at the Israeli side of the Gaza border. Letting Netanyahu off the hook for what Israel did in Gaza is no less defining for Israel’s future as it seeks to rebuild itself after his long and destructive rule.