On carrots - Harel in Haaretz:

‘The Biden administration prepared a comprehensive effort. A few hours after the speech, Netanyahu received an official invitation from the two major parties in the U.S. to deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress. The prime minister has been waiting for such an invitation for many long months. Democrats were in no rush to agree until now, angered by how he was managing the war. It now seems that there is a mixture of various carrots and sticks at play that are designed to make Israel more amenable.’

(…)

‘Several of Biden's statements raise concerns from Israel's perspective. He wants to end the war now, but as Netanyahu's response indicates, Biden does not say how Hamas' rule in Gaza will be ousted, with Israeli military actions not having achieved this. Biden argues that Israel can suffice with the damage it has already wrought on Hamas, which will not allow it to repeat the slaughter of October 7. This is far from what Netanyahu promised his voters, even if the prime minister has recently reduced his frequent mention of achieving total victory.’

(…)

‘In any analysis of the pros and cons of a deal that may soon come to pass, supreme importance must be given to the lives of these hostages. The failure of the government and the defense establishment in abandoning them on the day of the massacre and in failing to return them since then is a wound that will remain unhealed in the Israeli public psyche.’

(…)

‘The question is whether these issues, including Biden's speech, are enough to bring the masses out of their apathy and return them to the streets. This scenario greatly worries Netanyahu, as attested to in part by a Haaretz report by Gidi Weitz, according to which Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar rebuffed pressure by Likud ministers to use the Shin Bet as a secret police service against protest organizers.’

Read the article here.

Netanyahu fears his own people protesting his government more than he fears Hamas.

It’s still possible that Biden’s strategy will work you catch more flies with honey et cetera. It’s possible but I would not bet my money on it.

Netanyahu’s grotesque rhetoric – yes, in almost every war the rhetoric becomes grotesque – adds only to the failures of Israeli military and government.

Supreme importance must be given to the lives of the hostages, writes Harel.

Supreme importance is given to the own political survival, not only does Netanyahu think so, many of his allies and some of his enemies act and behave exactly the same way.