'Super Sparta': Netanyahu's megalomania hits a fever pitch
'Super Sparta': Netanyahu's megalomania hits a fever pitch
As heads of state gathered in Doha this week for an emergency Arab and Islamic summit to discuss a response to the recent Israeli attack targeting senior Hamas negotiators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rose to deliver a speech at an economic conference in Jerusalem, where he made clear that Israel was headed towards perpetual war.
In his “Super Sparta” speech, Netanyahu aimed to signal to the Arab and Islamic world that, despite condemnations and declarations about restraining Tel Aviv and preventing the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, Israel will continue its military operations there - and, with the help of the US, advance its ethnic cleansing plan, regardless of the diplomatic and economic costs.
And then overnight, the Israeli army began its ground offensive in Gaza City, following waves of intense strikes.
Uncharacteristically, Netanyahu spoke honestly about Israel’s situation, acknowledging that a boycott has emerged from western European states in culture, sports, academia and other areas.
He attributed these developments to Arab and Muslim immigration to European countries, suggesting these communities have had an undue influence on decision-making processes. This was both an effort to echo the European populist right’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, and a dismissal of broader international solidarity efforts aimed at ending the genocide in Gaza.
Netanyahu also accused Qatar and China of spreading propaganda against Israel, as though all UN reports about Israeli crimes and genocide in Gaza were entirely baseless - a truly Orwellian interpretation of reality.
More importantly, he said Israel would need to become “Super Sparta” by developing a massive military industry. He argued that Israel must produce its own weapons to avoid reliance on foreign states, thus moving from a free-market economy to a closed, authoritarian one. This, he said, would require drastic cuts to bureaucracy and public spending.
More power, less oversight
These statements were not just aimed at Arab and Muslim countries; they were also directed inwards, to Israeli society itself.
In the coming years, Israel is preparing to become an isolated pariah state engaged in endless wars, while demanding that its entire economy join the war effort - and removing all constraints on the prime minister’s actions.
Netanyahu’s remarks came just days after the publication of an interim report by the state commission of inquiry into the so-called submarine affair, which outlined how the prime minister concealed from defence officials the sale of submarines from Germany to Egypt - one of the country’s gravest security scandals.
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In the reality Netanyahu describes, he is gathering more power for himself with less oversight; exploiting the war to preserve his position, in the face of criminal charges.
All of this is taking place while the Israeli army continues its relentless bombardment of Gaza City, advancing towards wholesale occupation and forcing two million Palestinians into ever-smaller, uninhabitable spaces.
Israel is going all in, and Netanyahu is arrogant and megalomaniacal enough to believe he can achieve his vision
The attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders in Qatar was not just an attempt to strike the negotiating team; it was an attempt to strike at the very idea of negotiations itself. Netanyahu’s decision to bomb a state hosting negotiating parties during wartime was globally unprecedented.
Despite fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, the US also negotiated with them in Qatar. Even amid the Russia-Ukraine war, the two sides held talks in Turkey. This is a centuries-old custom that only Israel appears willing to break.
While Israel is often portrayed as an irrational actor, the government’s statements do not emerge in a vacuum. Rather, they are linked to the refusal of Arab states to draw red lines, and from Israel’s knowledge that American unconditional backing allows it to operate freely in the Middle East.
Even more absurd have been the reactions of Israeli commentators. After the Doha attack, most of the public discussion focused on the relative success or failure of the assassination attempt, while ignoring the madness of the decision to bomb Qatar, as Israeli public opinion supported the move.
Public acceptance
Netanyahu’s admission that Israel is set to become “Super Sparta” thus comes from his knowledge that a majority of the public is willing to accept this move, despite mounting social and psychological problems within Israeli society - especially among soldiers - and the growing unwillingness of many of them to keep fighting.
On the same day as the “Super Sparta” speech and the Arab summit, Israeli media reassured citizens that the echoes and explosions they were hearing were simply the sounds of military operations in Gaza.
Despite Arab and Muslim leaders at the Doha summit calling for a return to the path of peace, Israel has clearly decided that it is not interested, as it acts to impose a new reality in the Middle East.
Still, this summit was important because of its location and the potential power of these states - particularly given the retreat of the “axis of resistance” and the weakening of Iran. It revealed the genuine concerns of Arab states, and especially Gulf states, which may be forced to take steps to preserve their own national security interests.
A scenario in which Israel imposes on Arab states the acceptance of Palestinian refugees against their will, while annexing the West Bank and Gaza, is unfolding before our eyes. Even threats and measures from European states - whether through arms embargoes, downgrading of diplomatic ties, or pausing trade deals - appear to be ineffective tools to dissuade Israel from occupying Gaza after expelling its population.
Israel is going all in, and Netanyahu is arrogant and megalomaniacal enough to believe he can achieve his vision. But the path forward will impose very heavy costs on Arab states, which must now realise that Israel is no longer only a danger to the Palestinian people, but a threat to every Arab regime unwilling to submit to its interests.
The choice now rests with them: will they take meaningful steps to stop this?
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
