Israeli Newspaper Pins Blame for Attack Solely on Netanyahu

As the assessments roll in after the weekend attack by Hamas on Israel, some are focusing on the logistics of the military assault. Others are taking a broader view by looking at the bigger-picture issues at play, including the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Coverage:

• The blame: A scathing editorial in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz declares that the assault "is the clear responsibility of one person: Benjamin Netanyahu." The big reason? "The prime minister, who has prided himself on his vast political experience and irreplaceable wisdom in security matters, completely failed to identify the dangers he was consciously leading Israel into when establishing a government of annexation and dispossession." In short, he adopted "a foreign policy that openly ignored the existence and rights of Palestinians."

• 'Terrible damage': In a New York Times column, longtime Mideast observer Thomas Friedman wrote that "Netanyahu's politics of division have done terrible damage to Israel," including its military. However, Friedman has blame for both sides, writing that "as bad as Netanyahu has been for Israel, Hamas has been a deadly curse for the Palestinian people since it took over Gaza in 2007." It's more focused on war rather than building a functional Palestinian government, he writes. Friedman also speculates that Hamas did indeed attack with the support of Iran, perhaps to scuttle the burgeoning detente between Israel and Iran's rival, Saudi Arabia.

• 'Big chance:' In a piece headlined "Bibi's big chance" at Politico, Israeli-based writer Cole S. Aronson sees the possibility for something positive to result from the ongoing violence. He writes that the attack has "reanimated" the idea that Netanyahu will "rid the government of religious Zionist parties in favor of a centrist coalition that includes liberals." It could be a "reset" for the prime minister, he writes, one that would benefit himself and the country. "A unity government in Jerusalem, should Netanyahu form one, would strengthen both Israeli security and its alliance with Washington."

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)