While all that was said about Netanyahu here is certainly true, there's an additional factor that has yet to be mentioned, despite (or because) its great significance. That is the accusation leveled at Netanyahu by the more moderate supporters of Israel that he's responsible for the brutality in which this was has been led. Nothing could be further from the truth - Netanyahu's views of the conflict are fully shared by the overwhelming majority of Israel's population, with many (perhaps most) believing that he's not going far enough. Any conceivable Israeli government would prosecute the war in essentially the same fashion. The same true is true regarding the overall solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu has certainly done his best to sabotage such a solution, but any government likely to be elected in Israel wouldn't budge an iota from the status quo he has imposed.
But admitting these facts would present a significant conundrum for the above mentioned moderate supporters - they'd have to recognize that changing the government of Israel wouldn't help at all and that the country as a whole would have to be penalized to forced them to change their way. And since this is inconceivable for these people, they have to pretend the problem is Netanyahu, hence much of the rhetoric against him.
Thevwar would be brutal no doubt but I don’t see a more moderate Israeli government using openly genocidal/collective punishment rhetoric or tactics
