Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, is known as a man who likes to play for time and postpone big decisions.
But he may not be able to do that much longer.
Domestically, his coalition partners on the far right threaten to break up the government if he agrees to a cease-fire and does not try to clear Hamas out of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
Militarily, the strategic logic is to complete the dismantling of Hamas by taking Rafah and controlling the border with Egypt.
But diplomatically, his allies, especially the United States, are pushing him to agree on a cease-fire, and skip Rafah and the potential civilian casualties a large-scale operation would cause.
Persons:
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s
Locations:
Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, United States