Etgar Keret is one of the most successful authors in Israel where he has been living his entire life. Currently he resides in Tel Aviv.

The following text is an English translation of a recent interview in German. It is an automated translation that has been edited for brevity and clarity. The original version in German is behind a paywall here: https://www.stern.de/politik/ausland/isrealischer-autor-etgar-keret-ueber-nahost-konflikt---die-hamas-ist-nicht-das-palaestinensische-volk---33910462.html

[Edited for typo.]

QUOTE

[…] Q: Mr Keret, you have always lived in Tel Aviv, how is the atmosphere there?

A: The streets are half empty, sometimes you see soldiers running, you feel the tension everywhere. But what is really impressive is this energy.

Q: Can you describe this energy?

A: When the attacks started last Saturday, we were doomed to be tied to the TV in the living room. There we saw people calling the stations and asking our government for help. Many people simply got into the car and drove into the battle zone to save people.

You mean, where the government failed, civil society intervened? Moreover, there have been mass protests in Israel for months against Netanyahu’s judicial reform. The infrastructure of these protests was immediately used to do what the government was unable to offer.

Q: Do you have an example?

A: On the first day of the fighting, the reservists were ordered to their unit in the morning. They arrived at the station at 9 o’clock, but were told that there would be a train at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. They were supposed to wait 8 hours for trains while people were being tortured. Only because the transport minister was somewhere in Mexico and didn’t send special trains. So all the soldiers who had previously linked up to the protests against Netanyahu’s judicial reform organized cars and personally drove the reservists to action. […]

It was all the organized opponents of judicial reform who prepared food for the soldiers and injured. Or take Yair Golan, a member of the left-wing “Meretz” party, one of the biggest hate figures in the Netanyahu camp. When he heard about the attacks, he called two friends, they got into a car, drove off and saved 16 people. The government disappoints us, but we experience so much optimism and drive from the people around us. […]

This country is far from united, but all those who have protested against Netanyahu’s authoritarianism have simply joined in. And those who really cared about the problems were the members of the opposition. […]

Netanyahu says, “Our enemy will suffer for generations.” But what about all our sacrifices? What about all the people who died because so many soldiers were withdrawn from the Gaza Strip to the border with Jordan? People who do not vote for Netanyahu were simply neglected. […]

Now everyone is talking about unity. And meanwhile, the legal counsel of Netanyahu’s Likud party says that this war is a result of the left-liberal cancer. That’s what he says four hours after Netanyahu summoned our unity, and not even the Likud Party cares what their leader Netanyahu says. And the man who was in power when the greatest number of Jews since the Second World War were massacred did not even go on television, did not give an interview, did not answer a single question, did not say a thoughtful word. When I heard Biden’s speech, I felt like an orphan who sees someone who has a father. And I said to myself, “I want someone to take care of me. And who doesn’t just think about the next parliamentary term and tries to avoid a prison sentence. I want someone to look after me and see that I am hurt and confused, but that will never be Netanyahu.” […]

Since Netanyahu came to power, he has had a very simple theory: “I don’t want a Palestinian state. And the only way to avoid a Palestinian state is to strengthen Hamas.” He said that openly in a government meeting. And Bezalel Smotrich, his fascist coalition partner, said: “We need a stronger Hamas and a weaker Palestinian Authority.” During all these last years we have gone through a ritual of human sacrifice. Every few years, Israel has undertaken a military operation in which Israelis and Palestinians died, while Netanyahu assured us, “The thing is under control. I have a deal with the devil, some people will die, but that’s the price.” In this attempt to block the possibility of a Palestinian state - which would be the only normal and morally acceptable solution to our conflicts - there was an invisible pact between Netanyahu and Hamas. […]

When Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995, Netanyahu had no chance of winning. Because normally your party won’t win an election if you kill a prime minister. Then, from one day to the next, Hamas began its deadly suicide attacks. And people said, “Shimon Perez won’t be able to fix this,” so they voted for Netanyahu. And as soon as Netanyahu was in power, Hamas stopped its terrorist attacks, because they no longer needed terror. Because neither Hamas nor Netanyahu want a Palestinian state, Hamas is not the Palestinian people. And Netanyahu is not Israel. […]

We need a fresh start, we need a whole new situation, without Hamas and without Netanyahu. […]

It took Netanyahu five days to allow the opposition to join a war cabinet. The opposition people said, “All we ask is that the fascist who is agitating against the Arabs is not part of the war cabinet. Remove him from the government for this crisis and you can use him again after the war.” And Netanyahu replied, “That would be a good solution for now, but in three months I will be in a bad political situation.” The country is struggling to survive, and all Netanyahu has in mind is its political future, which has nothing to do with leadership. He’s the guy who’s been dragging this country through the dirt for years, thinking it’s all good to save him from prison. We will win this war despite Netanyahu, but certainly not thanks to him. […]

Q: Will Netanyahu survive this time politically? A: […] True leaders would jump into the car, drive off and help. One would like the government to say, “Our job is not to insult all our domestic opponents as anarchists. But our job is to run this country, and to deal with this emergency.” But nothing like that happens. […]

Q: And what do you wish for the Palestinians? A: That they get a leadership that really acts in their interest. Hamas did not think of Palestinian interests when it attacked Israel, but of Iranian interests. Of course, Iran wants Israel to attack Hamas and bomb Gaza instead of Tehran, which is a proxy war. The Palestinians deserve a leadership that really cares about their interests, just like Israel.

Q: They have long advocated a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Do they still think reconciliation is possible?

A: Yeah, I do, because I live here, and I think what’s happening here should be a wake-up call. People from both sides of the conflict should say, “Okay, we tried extremist violence for 23 years, it didn’t work.” So we should draw a line and say, “This time is behind us.” Now, both sides should seek leadership that promises us a future that is optimistic and not about destroying your neighbor.