Netanyahu rival vows to end Hamas rule within 18 months if elected

The closely fought election will be the first since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people.(AFP) — Israeli opposition politician Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival in upcoming elections, vowed Thursday to end Hamas rule in Gaza if he wins office following the Oct. 27 vote.“Today I give a public commitment: from the moment I enter the Prime Minister’s Office, within 18 months Hamas will no longer rule the Gaza Strip,” the leader of the center-right Yashar party said at a news conference near the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.He said he would achieve this either by implementing U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan, which provides for the gradual disarmament of Hamas and a transfer of power, or through “creative operations” by Israel’s military aimed at destroying the Palestinian movement’s military wing.Hamas announced in July that it was disbanding its governing body to facilitate the transfer of Gaza’s administration to a nascent technocratic Palestinian committee called the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.The committee, currently based in Cairo, was created following the declaration of a ceasefire last October and is overseen by Trump’s Board of Peace.Later in July, Hamas announced it had agreed to a deal involving the handover of its weapons to the committee.But Israel has been skeptical, with Netanyahu demanding verifiable decommissioning of all weapons before any military withdrawal takes place.Hamas has not proceeded with disarmament, Israel has refused to reciprocate by starting to withdraw forces, and the committee is not operating inside the territory.Israeli forces were allowed to remain in 53% of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire, but a year later they control about 70%, according to official accounts.‘Strategic failure’Eisenkot’s campaign pledge Thursday is one of the strongest yet from the 66-year-old former military chief.The closely fought election will be the first since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people.In response to the attack, Israel launched a massive offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 74,300 people, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas and whose figures are generally considered reliable by the United Nations.Eisenkot on Thursday accused Netanyahu of a “strategic failure” in Gaza, where he said “Hamas is still the sovereign … armed, arming itself, and militarily active” after three years of war.He also reiterated a pledge to establish a state commission of inquiry to identify those responsible for any security lapses leading up to Oct. 7, a push the government has so far resisted.“There is a way to prevent the next disaster,” he said.Eisenkot, like other opposition politicians, regularly accuses Netanyahu of bearing personal responsibility for the Oct. 7 attack, notably by ignoring warnings from his security services and the United Arab Emirates, according to media reports.Netanyahu has categorically rejected the accusations and maintains that security officials did not wake him on the morning of the attack.Current polls show that neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the one led by Eisenkot is in a position to win the 61 seats needed to control the 120-seat parliament and form a governing coalition.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads