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Charles Knapp's avatar

If Hamas were agreeable to a ceasefire offer on the table, don’t you think they would have announced such a breakthrough? Of course, the one time Hamas tried, it turned out it was accepting terms none of the mediators proposed.

Whatever you may think of your Prime Minister, one question suggests itself. Iis keeping Hamas in power after October 7 something the Israeli public will allow? The premise of Sharon’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 was that the world would support Israel against any terror act launched from the Strip. From today’s vantage point, that hope appears foolishly naive. And Hamas’ survival will likely be the death knell politically of the “moderate” PA.

The elephant in the room is that Hamas is not a national liberation movement nor does it represent some segment of an international progressive movement. It is an Islamic supremacist group with millennialist pretensions of bringing about a world under Islam. The West seems happy to hide behind Israel for now.

But the question remains, how can anyone negotiate with such a group and believe it is acting in good faith? Wasn’t there a “permanent” ceasefire in place up to the morning of October 7? And hasn’t Hamas promised to repeat October 7 as often as required until Israel is destroyed?

I suppose the best answer is that Hamas can be neutered if its paymaster cuts it off. Given the West’s failure to back Israel against Hamas, does anyone imagine a stronger Western coalition against Iran?

Given all this, if the Israeli public has lost confidence in its current Prime Minister to achieve the goal of ending Hamas’ rule over Gaza, whom do they trust to safeguard the country going forward?

Hamas, through its war crimes, including of hostage taking, has intentionally presented Israel with a horrific choice. If it survives, it promises more of the same.

Compare for a second Ukraine, another country whose enemies reject its sovereignty and history. No one is demanding that Ukraine give up its justified fight and reach an immediate ceasefire with Putin - with some vague belief that “justice” will somehow prevail purely as a result of negotiations. Oddly, the many Ukrainian orphans abducted to Russia, when it’s raised at all, is not seen as anything over which to negotiate but a black mark against Russia.

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EKB's avatar

Bibi sees that the US lauds FDR after Pearl Harbor. So why shouldn’t it be with him? Israel will decide Bibis legacy. But don’t trust Biden/Harris either. The democrats care about winning in November more than they care about the hostages, even the American ones.

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