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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: This is not the end of the war in Gaza. It's the beginning of the end.
ERIC WESTERVELT, HOST:
That's what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
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NETANYAHU: To the people of Gaza, I have a simple message. This war can end tomorrow. It can end if Hamas lays down its arms and returns our hostages.
WESTERVELT: And for the Biden administration, it presents an opportunity to realize a cease-fire in Gaza, something Biden has been pushing for, for months. Here's the president on Friday.
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PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I told the prime minister of Israel yesterday - let's also make this moment an opportunity to seek a path to peace.
WESTERVELT: Let's bring in Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt. He's now a professor of Middle East policy at Princeton University. Ambassador, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
DANIEL KURTZER: Good morning.
WESTERVELT: So Sinwar's death is a big blow to Hamas. The White House is encouraging Israel once again to take the win and move toward ending the war. Neither Hamas nor Israel seem very interested in that. Is this a moment when the Biden administration can actually help deliver a cease-fire?
KURTZER: It sounds like it is. It should be seen by the two sides as an inflection point. But unfortunately, neither of them believes that. Mr. Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said the war is not over. The Hamas has issued statements, both from Gaza and Doha, suggesting that they want to continue. So unless the two parties want to end it, it's hard to see how the administration can do much.
WESTERVELT: I mean, the administration did recently give Israel 30 days to increase critical aid into Gaza. But as you know, the U.S. has a lot more leverage that it doesn't seem to be using. Why not, in your view?
KURTZER: Well, first of all, politics - we're in the run-up to an election, and I think the issue is very fraught in American politics. Israel plays differently in both Republican and Democrat parties. But secondly, I think the administration actually believes that Hamas should be defeated. It has not agreed with the way Israel has gone about prosecuting this war, the massive damage to Gaza infrastructure and the civilian casualties. And so you have an administration caught between various imperatives.
WESTERVELT: The White House has repeatedly talked about President Biden's tough and direct conversations with Netanyahu. But the Israelis largely seem to ignore the White House. Here's Netanyahu yesterday on a video posted on his social media feed, touting the death of Sinwar.
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NETANYAHU: We took him out, and we're continuing our battle with Iran's other terrorist proxies. We're going to win this war.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: So will something deter you?
NETANYAHU: No.
WESTERVELT: Ambassador, I mean, is there really any getting through to Netanyahu for the White House on its diplomatic efforts, especially given the election is around the corner?
KURTZER: It appears not. I think the president has tried to be both persuasive and tough. I think the idea that was put out last week of holding back something, some consequences if Israel didn't increase the flow of humanitarian assistance should have gotten through. But Netanyahu appears unwilling to yield to any kind of pressure, and the administration is unwilling to apply kind of maximum pressure. And so we are at a standstill here.
WESTERVELT: Israel keeps delivering these tactical successes in its view, killing top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. But in your view, Ambassador, does that add up to a coherent strategy?
KURTZER: No, no, it does not. Israel, in fact, has not had a coherent strategy since the Hamas attack on October 7 last year. Netanyahu first said that he wanted to destroy Hamas. Everybody told him, you can't destroy a religious movement. Then they talked about creating conditions under which Hamas would no longer govern and would not pose a threat. And that still remains the talking point. But Israel has not articulated a definitive end game, which would allow it to stop fighting and begin the transition to the day after.
WESTERVELT: Well, and speaking of incoherence, I mean, an ongoing mystery is whether Israel has a day-after plan for Gaza now that it's destroyed. This seems like a strategic failure that could affect the entire region and perhaps beyond. What's your view?
KURTZER: Well, until now, no one has seen an Israeli day-after plan. There are dozens of such plans coming out of various people in the United States and elsewhere. But - and even in Israel, there are some ideas. But as long as Netanyahu holds this view that there is not only no role for Hamas, but no role for the Palestinian Authority, then we're really in a dead end. And that's - Israeli policy right now looks like it is in a dead end.
WESTERVELT: Ambassador, briefly, this inability to bring about a cease-fire in Gaza, if it continues, I mean, how damaging, in your view is that to U.S. credibility in the region, in the world?
KURTZER: Well, I think we've taken a big hit already in terms of our credibility - our inability to persuade the Israelis to moderate their demands and their war actions. Right now, the same thing is beginning to happen in Lebanon with both the assassination of their leadership, but the continuation and intensification of the fighting.
WESTERVELT: That's former ambassador Daniel Kurtzer of Princeton University. Thanks so much.
KURTZER: OK. Thank you.
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