The notion that he will claim a victory and stop now is deluded. He will press on until there is the political will in the US to stop himIt’s blindingly obvious Benjamin Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire in Gaza or Lebanon or anywhere else – not yet, at least. The Biden administration and Keir Starmer’s government can persist with the politically convenient fiction that last week’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has opened a window to peace if they must. But it’s nonsense. Israel’s prime minister violently rampages about like a drunken hooligan armed with a stack of US and UK-supplied bricks. He loves the sound of breaking glass.The unpalatable truth is Netanyahu, his far-right allies and dismayingly large numbers of Israeli citizens believe, foolishly, that they are winning the war that Hamas began on 7 October last year and that Israel has since relentlessly, criminally expanded. They view Sinwar’s death, after a recent string of high-profile assassinations, as the latest vindication of Netanyahu’s slash-and-burn policy – even though it will inevitably backfire eventually. His next target? Iran.Simon Tisdall is the Observer’s foreign affairs commentatorDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...