Bringing the hostages home now and demanding new elections now. ...those two goals are contradictory
Unfortunately, those two goals are contradictory. The demonstrators are engaging in self-deception if they believe that a new government will solve the hostage crisis faster than the current leadership.
For starters, the timing would be disastrous.
Snap elections don’t mean you get a new government with a snap of the fingers. Logistically, it takes at least four months from when the Knesset initiates the process to dissolve itself until elections can be held. It normally takes two more months to finalize coalition negotiations and swear in a new government.
Six months is an eternity under current conditions, especially if your main concern is the hostages’ well-being. Hamas would have zero incentive to release even one hostage during that period. They would leverage the six months to up their demands and hold out for a better deal from a left-wing government more likely to succumb to heavy domestic and international pressure. All of Israel’s enemies would declare a righteous victory, claiming their forces ousted Netanyahu.
Aside from that, the demonstrators are suffering from wishful thinking based on polls that show a new election would sweep Benny Gantz and a center-left coalition into power.
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