This week, Israel marked 78 years of independence. Before that, we observed Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers of Israel’s wars, the heroes who gave their lives for the rebirth of the homeland. The homeland, incidentally, was established in 1948, not in October 2023, despite the prime minister’s considerable efforts to frame the current conflict as a war of revival.

Around Independence Day, I suggest that each of us, the Israelis, especially Jews who celebrate the founding of the Jewish state, ask ourselves whether Israel is truly an independent state. From the perspective of the international system, the answer is yes: we have a government, we have recognized borders (with Egypt and Jordan, though not with Lebanon, Syria, or the Palestinians), and Israel is a member of international institutions such as the United Nations. But all of this exists only at the formal level. In reality, Israel celebrates independence while its freedom of action and its ability to defend its territory and sovereignty against external threats are not fully intact.

The following lines analyse a situation that has existed in Israel since October 2023. They may be difficult to read for anyone who loves Israel, is Zionist, and is willing to die for its continued existence. Having said that, there is no avoiding the following points:

We have not won the war in Gaza against Hamas. It is already known that the IDF controls 57 percent of the Gaza Strip along the “yellow line”, but the plan to establish a new order in........

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