If further proof were needed that Israel is not a standard or logical country, while the rest of the world is flooded with information and details regarding the evolving framework of the hostage deal and ceasefire, it is precisely the Israeli citizens who are wandering in the dark.
Another international negotiation, another deal, another concealment from the Israeli public. This toxic cycle continues day by day, year by year, and decade by decade. It doesn't matter who forms the government or who stands at its head. Whether it's the far left or the messianic right, Bennett, Netanyahu, or even Lapid.
It seems as if the Israeli decision-making establishment, at all its levels and branches, has decided that the Israeli citizen will be the least informed citizen in the world, especially on matters that directly affect them.
In the United States, in order to make binding international decisions like these, a comprehensive discussion in the upper house (the Senate) is often required, as in the case of the nuclear agreement with Iran. Even when it comes to matters that fall entirely within the president's authority, and even on issues the White House would prefer to keep quiet, such as the release of sanction funds to Iran, the White House and the president's administration are obligated to inform the American public. Even if the notification is brief, it must disclose the costs and consequences of the decision.
In Germany, the Chancellor's office is entirely made of glass, and any decision made within the office walls must be fully published in writing within 24 hours on a dedicated public disclosure website.
And in Israel? In Israel, over the past few decades, a considerable number of binding international agreements with far-reaching consequences for the state and its citizens have been made, and we know nothing about them until after they are implemented.
Israel is currently engaged in intense negotiations with the terrorist organization that committed the greatest crime in modern history against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. We are on the brink of a deal that could entail, and already entails, severe and unfathomable costs in some aspects. Additionally, it opens the door to catastrophic consequences in the future.
And us? The Israeli citizens? We know nothing, we don't know what will remain of the war's achievements, we don't know what will fall apart. We don't know from where our forces will withdraw, and we don't know where they are allowed to stay. We don't know if we will be able to return to fighting or if we are doomed to live again alongside a Nazi terror organization that will prepare for the next massacre.
We, the citizens most affected by these agreements in the world, know nothing about their content. And this is not unique to the current government or any other entity. It's true that the Prime Minister's Office and other political figures are engaged in a battle of narratives among themselves in an attempt to secure some good spin, but that is not the issue.
The problem is fundamental, institutional, inherent. The Israeli mechanism, whether it is the government, the Knesset, the courts, the army, and the security systems, does not see a need for the conscious consent of the Israeli citizen. Unlike any other citizen in the world, we are expected to nod, say yes, and swallow the consequences when they come in silence.
Pay attention, while the world is celebrating from one side or another the "deal closure," no one in Israel feels the need to explain to the Israeli public what they signed on their behalf, and why they signed it that way.
The Prime Minister does not come out to explain how he agreed to terms he promised not to agree to in the past or why. The Chief of Staff does not see the need to explain to Israelis how it is possible to reconcile continuing life alongside Hamas with his promise of security to the residents of the south, or how the IDF is expected to deal with the consequences of the deal, where the forces are retreating to, and why they pushed for it. No Member of Knesset who is aware of the details of the deal is willing to use their immunity to reveal its details to the public, and no court, whether the lowest or the highest in the country, is willing to order the disclosure of the clauses.
All these things have happened before, whether within the framework of the Oslo Accords, the disengagement, the Shalit deal, the water agreement with Hezbollah of the change government, the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah of the Netanyahu government, or the current one with Hamas.
According to all indications, the deal is already signed, and it cannot be changed. We will have to live with this reality, but we must not live with the reality in which the Israeli establishment actively chooses to hide information from the citizens for its own convenience, otherwise, we have learned nothing at all.
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