Tag Archives: Hamas

The World Is Rapidly Changing

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It will be a while before we truly realize the aftershocks of what is happening in Iran. It may be a while before we know what is actually happening in Iran, but the impact of what has happened so far will be felt for a long time. I believe the war in Iran began with the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. That attack ended the idea of a peaceful Palestinian state, which Gaza was established to be. Once that illusion was shattered, and Israel realized how vulnerable it was, the war with Iran was inevitable whether or not America approved or got involved. The issue became the survival of Israel. Since the war began, other Arab states have realized that they are not immune from the terrorist activities of Iran. The region in gradually reshaping itself into a more modern, economically bonded region.

On Tuesday, The Hill reported:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the country’s government said on Tuesday. 

The country will officially exit OPEC and its broader OPEC+ association on May 1 following the government’s internal review of its production policy, according to UAE state media, WAM. 

“This decision reflects the UAE’s long-term strategic and economic vision and evolving energy profile, including accelerated investment in domestic energy production, and reinforces its commitment to a responsible, reliable, and forward-looking role in global energy markets,” WAM reported.

The move marks a major change for the permanent intergovernmental organization, which sets uniform petroleum policies among its member countries with the mission of maintaining stable global oil markets.

The UAE first joined OPEC seven years after its founding in 1960 under the emirate of Abu Dhabi, and it has been a vital member of the intergovernmental organization. The country’s exit follows UAE officials’ complaints about OPEC’s quotas and the country’s reported clashes with the organization’s de-facto leader, Saudi Arabia.

This decision is also the result of the fact that America is not only energy independent–we are exporting oil. Saudi Arabia no longer has the sway that it once had. The energy market is now every man for himself. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on crude oil prices.

Be Wary When The Lobster Shows Up

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On Saturday, Ed Morrissey posted an article at Hot Air about the rising tensions with Iran.

The article notes:

What will happen next in the standoff with Iran? Donald Trump drew a red line nearly two months ago, and the regime brutally crossed it. Trump acknowledged this yesterday, announcing that US intelligence estimates the mullahs murdered more than 32,000 Iranian protesters last month:

…Since those massacres, Trump has assembled one of the largest naval and air armadas the Middle East has ever seen. He has demanded that Ali Khamenei stop all uranium enrichment activities, put serious limits on its ballistic-missile systems, and end support for terror proxies Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Iran keeps trying to offer a sequel to the deal the mullahs cut with Barack Obama, a JCPOA-Lite that only addresses their nuclear-weapons development – and that only for the next three to five years. 

The article notes:

Taking Khamenei and his princeling off the chessboard would be satisfying, but it would change very little. They are not the only mullahs in the clique that runs the theocracy in Iran. The other mullahs are almost certainly not living in close connection to each other, either, likely housed in residential districts where civilian collateral deaths would be almost a certainty. A decapitation strike would have to be timed for a plenary meeting of the mullahs, and the Iranian regime would be idiotic to call one at this time. This option might take the Khameneis out, but another mullah will take their place, and so on. It would end nothing. 

So what’s next? Whatever it is, it may come quickly. The Times of Israel reports today that an “unbridgeable impasse” has emerged in the indirect talks between the US and Iran, likely over Trump’s demand for a full-spectrum retreat by Iran. It’s bad enough that the Iranians are refusing to read US proposals on missile limits:

On Sunday, MSN reported the following:

While there is no official confirmation, a common belief suggests the US military serves its troops a ‘last meal’ with a fancy menu including steak, lobster, and pie, before sending them on a war front. Some link the hearty meal to a dangerous deployment or an extended mission. The theory has circulated on social media for years and often resurfaces during periods of geopolitical tensions. …

Last year, in June, similar reports surfaced on social media on June 18 after military soldier Antonia Lopez posted a lavish meal video that went viral on social media. The day also coincided with the US Army’s birthday. In the clip, Lopez showed that she was given steak, lobster, caprese salad, asparagus, hush puppies, a baked potato, shrimp cocktail, fruit salad, garlic bread, cake, and pecan pie in the meal.

Days after the video was posted, the United States carried out military strikes on Iranian targets on June 22.

Hang on to your hats–the road ahead is going to be bumpy for a little while!

I Don’t Think Everyone Is On The Same Page

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On Sunday, Breitbart posted an article about the quest for peace in Gaza.

The article reports:

Hamas leader Khaled Mashal declared that “the resistance and its weapons are our honor and glory” and that “the battle is not over,” boasting that rights are won “at the recruitment office, not the U.N. Security Council” — a declaration that directly contradicts President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan and celebrates the October 7 “Al-Aqsa Flood” massacre as a turning point to push Israel off “our homeland” and the international stage.

I don’t believe you can make peace with people who celebrate the events of October 7.

The article notes:

Speaking Saturday by video to the “Pledge to Jerusalem” conference in Istanbul, the head of Hamas abroad used a keynote address carried on Al Jazeera to lay out an uncompromising roadmap that flatly rejects the core elements of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan — disarmament, an international stabilization force, and Hamas’s removal from power — even as the terror group moves toward Phase Two of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire it ostensibly accepted two months ago.

Notice that he was in Istanbul–not in Gaza. That seems to be the pattern of Hamas leadership–they stay away from the war zone.

The article also reports:

He urged the wider Islamic “ummah” to commit to “the liberation of Jerusalem as the banner and symbol of freeing Palestine,” including the “cleansing” of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the “reclaiming” of Islamic and Christian holy sites, framing Gaza as the vanguard that launched the “Al-Aqsa Flood” massacre in 2023 and “turned into the pride of the nation and the conscience of nations.”

In remarks highlighted by multiple Israeli outlets, Mashal explicitly rejected any “guardianship, mandate and re-occupation” over Gaza, the West Bank, or “all of Palestine,” insisting that Palestinians “need protection, not guardians” and that “the Palestinian is the one who governs himself and decides for himself.”

Unfortunately, I believe the only path to peace in Gaza has to include the end of Hamas and its leadership.

Who’s Side Are They On?

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Theoretically, American government agencies support the government of America. Unfortunately, lately that depends on who the people elect. In a recent 60 Minutes interview, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner shared some very interesting things about the briefings they received from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

On Sunday, The Conservative Treehouse reported:

During a segment (prompted below) Witkoff and Kushner are outlining the step-by-step process as they engaged the leaders of Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.  Witkoff reveals how the CIA was briefing them both, multiple times a day, and the briefing itself was exactly the opposite of what Emir of Qatar and Presidents of Turkey and Egypt were telling them.  The CIA intelligence was the exact opposite of reality.  WATCH:

What they are describing is EXACTLY why we outlined how ‘outside govt’ emissaries were/are vitally necessary to work around the control agenda of the U.S. Intelligence Community.  This small example is stunning in magnitude when considered around the importance of the moment.

On a positive note, with Witkoff making this stunning public statement, we can now add a major datapoint to President Trump’s reference of NOT TRUSTING the CIA.  Combined with the previous assertions of Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard on essentially the same level of outlook, this example of the CIA getting it wrong (misleading the administration) has long-range ramifications beyond the Hamas example.

At some point, it becomes obvious that the deep state is much more active in various government bureaucracies that most of us originally thought. Although it might temporarily weaken the CIA, it’s time to remove all CIA personnel who have been involved in misleading or undermining the Trump administration. I am sure we can find qualified people somewhere in America who love America and are willing to work for the CIA.

Being Patient In The Search For Peace

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Today, the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) posted an article about Israel’s efforts to maintain the ceasefire agreement after two Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers were killed by terror operatives in Rafah, southern Gaza.

The article reports:

Israel on Sunday night reaffirmed its commitment to the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, which had been threatened after a series of Hamas attacks on IDF soldiers sparked military retaliation.

“In accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and following a series of significant strikes in response to Hamas’s violations, the [Israel Defense Forces] has begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire,” said the army.

“The IDF will continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond firmly to any violation,” the statement added.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday evening that the incident would be handled “toughly but properly” and that the truce in the Strip remained in effect.

“We’re gonna have to see what’s happening,” the president said, asked about Israel’s retaliatory strikes. “We wanna make sure that it’s gonna be very peaceful with Hamas, and as you know, they’ve been quite rambunctious, they’ve been doing some shooting,” he said.

However, Trump told reporters that it was possible the terrorist group’s leadership “isn’t involved in that,” suggesting that “some rebels within” launched the attacks on Israeli forces.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, speaking with journalists on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday night, claimed that “when we talk about Hamas, you’re talking about 40 different cells; it’s disjointed.

The article concludes:

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to “fully resume combat in the Gaza Strip with maximum force” in response to the ceasefire violations.

“The false illusions that Hamas will change its ways, or even adhere to the agreement it signed, are proving, as expected, to be dangerous to our security. The Nazi terrorist organization must be completely destroyed—and the sooner, the better,” said Ben-Gvir.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded with one word, tweeting on Sunday afternoon: “War.”

Under the ceasefire deal, Hamas was required to return all 28 hostage bodies it held by Oct. 13. So far, it has transferred 12 to Israel. The Palestinian terrorist organization is also refusing to disarm and intends to remain the ruling party in Gaza during an interim period, both in violation of Trump’s 20-point peace plan unveiled on Sept. 29.

Although I think distrust of Hamas is reasonable and justified, I would be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for about a week. Resuming the war too quickly might not be the best course.

Revisiting An Old Issue

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article reporting that Representative Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) and Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) are urging the Trump administration to investigate the Council on American-Islamic Relations’s links to Hamas. If you have been following RightWingGranny for any length of time, this ‘possible’ link is not a surprise.

In December 2015, I posted:

If Americans want to be fully informed on Islamic terrorism–who it is, what it is, and how it works–they need to be familiar with the Holy Land Foundation trial and the government exhibits that are filed with it. In 2008 the directors of the Holy Land Foundation (America’s largest Islamic charity) were convicted on multiple charges of terrorism financing. The trial revealed a lot about the Muslim Brotherhood in America–its plans, its operations, and its affiliated groups. The government exhibits from the Holy Land Foundation trial are available on line. They are in Arabic, but the English translation follows. There were also numerous Muslim organizations named in the trial as unindicted co-conspirators. Some of the groups with known associations to the Muslim Brotherhood are CAIR, ICNA, MSA, ISNA and others. For further information about the Holy Land Foundation Trial and these organizations, I suggest reading Shariah the Threat to America, the Team B II Report (available on Amazon) and the Muslim Mafia by P. David Gaubatz (available on Amazon). Meanwhile, what follows is an illustration of why all Americans need this information.

Yesterday the Daily Caller posted an article about Rafia Farook, the mother of San Bernardino terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook. Mrs. Farook is an active member of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), a Muslim organization that promotes the establishment of a caliphate and has ties to a radical Pakistani political group called Jamaat-e-Islami.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

In a letter sent Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Republicans argue that CAIR’s “pattern of historic ties” to Hamas, combined with the rhetorical encouragement CAIR leaders have offered for Hamas, may constitute “material support for terrorism.” They cite CAIR’s designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2009 federal court case against the Holy Land Foundation, a Hamas front group, and pro-Hamas rhetoric from CAIR leaders in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.

CAIR executive director Nihad Awad, for example, said in November 2023 that he was “happy to see” Hamas attack the Jewish state, and applauded Hamas operatives for “breaking the siege” against Israel. Cotton and Stefanik noted that Awad is a former leader of the Islamic Association of Palestine, a propaganda arm of Hamas.

You get the picture. Please follow the links to read both articles. It is long past time to wake up and smell the coffee. Another book I highly recommend is Catastrophic Failure by Stephen Coughlin, also available on Amazon.

Once A Tyranny, Always A Tyranny

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In 2005, Israel totally withdrew from Gaza. The Palestinian Authority was elected by the people in Gaza to govern. In 2006, Hamas took over the government. There was an election involved, but the circumstances are a bit sketchy. That was the last election. One of the first things that people in Gaza did in 2005 was dismantle the greenhouses the Israelis had built that fed Gaza and Israel and provided employment and income for the residents of Gaza. The people of Gaza used the plumbing tubes from the greenhouses as rocket tubes. The rocket attacks against Israel that had been going on since 2001 continued. Gaza has been a brutal terrorist state from the beginning.

Things haven’t changed. On Tuesday, Hot Air reported:

As the Israelis withdrew from the Gaza war zone, Hamas terrorists needed somebody to shoot, so they decided to turn their fire on their fellow Palestinians.

The article quotes The U.K. Telegraph:

Much of the intra-Palestinian violence in recent days has taken place around the Shuja’iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, where, according to Hamas-affiliated social media, the group carried out a widespread “security campaign” against rivals, believed to be the powerful Dormush clan.

Hamas is also said to have moved against the Abu Samra family in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and called for the death of Khan Younis militia leader Housam al-Astal, who was interviewed by the Telegraph last week, and Yasser Abu Shabab in Rafah. Both men are believed to have collaborated tactically with Israel and accepted material support.

‘Dragged to the execution site’

The execution video showed Hamas fighters moving a large crowd out of the way so as not to be hit by bullets before the killings took place. Some of the prisoners were shirtless and some were dragged to the execution site while being beaten.

Separate footage, bearing the insignia of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades, showed armed militants riding in the back of an SUV with dead bodies at their feet.

I am not posting the videos.

The following was posted on X by Ahmed Al-Khalidi:

As a Palestinian who openly opposes Hamas and rejects the glorified myths our society keeps repeating, I can’t stay silent about the sheer hypocrisy I see from many Western liberals.

How can you defend a movement that executes its own people, by shooting them in the street, without trial, for merely disagreeing or being labeled “collaborators”? How can you call that “resistance” while those very scenes mirror the barbarism you’d condemn anywhere else in the world?

You claim to stand for liberal values, for human rights, for justice. But your empathy collapses when the victims are Palestinians murdered by other Palestinians, when it doesn’t fit the neat narrative of oppressor and oppressed.

What does that say about your values, really?

If you can overlook public executions and rule by terror just because the perpetrators shout “liberation,” then maybe your solidarity isn’t rooted in morality but in ideology.

A X post included in the article asks the question:

Has a single member of the “ceasefire now” brigade in Congress condemned Hamas carrying out public executions over the last few days?

The article concludes:

The whole “peace” movement has always been a farce. It was never about saving lives; it was always about backing anti-Israel terrorists.

They Are Home!

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All of the living hostages who were taken on October 7, 2023, were returned to Israel today. I can’t imagine what their families are feeling.

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Israel reclaimed its 20 living hostages early Monday after they spent more than two years in Hamas captivity, a triumphant moment that marked the first stage of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.

Video footage showed some of the hostages speaking to their families from video calls in Gaza before being turned over to the Israel Defense Forces. The first seven were released to the IDF around 2 a.m. Eastern Time, with the remaining 13 living hostages joining them roughly two hours later. All of the living hostages arrived on Israeli soil by 5 a.m. Monday.

The article includes some beautiful pictures of family reunions.

The article notes:

The hostage release is part of a ceasefire deal that also requires Hamas to return the remains of deceased hostages, though it’s unclear exactly when that will happen. Israel released around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal’s initial phase and withdrew its military forces from around half the territory of Gaza.

Trump will leave Israel to attend a summit on the deal scheduled to take place in Egypt on Monday. It is there that world leaders are expected to discuss the peace plan’s subsequent stages, including Hamas’s disarmament and the formal end of the war. Questions remain on those details, but Trump expressed confidence that the ceasefire will hold.

“The war is over,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening. “We have a lot of verbal guarantees, and I don’t think they’re going to want to disappoint me.”

If I were Hamas, I would understand that as a threat.

The article concludes:

Trump made good on his promise to help bring the hostages home by issuing several strict deadlines to Hamas while fully backing Israel’s war operations in Gaza. The pressure campaign worked, squeezing the terror group and eroding its support among Arab nations, particularly the Hamas-friendly Qatar.

Israel’s government approved the deal at Netanyahu’s urging last week, and in discussions with negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the Jewish state ensured that its military will remain in parts of Gaza to prevent terrorism and stop Hamas from rearming. The IDF will retain control of the territory along Gaza’s border with Egypt—a central pipeline for weapons—and other areas that include Hamas strongholds like Gaza City and Khan Younis, according to the Times of Israel.

Witkoff and Kushner addressed hundreds of thousands of Israelis at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. They praised the “heroism” of the IDF and the “exceptional” state of Israel. The crowd broke out in chants of “Thank you Kushner! Thank you Trump!”

This isn’t the end; it is only the beginning.

This Is Beyond Ridiculous

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On Sunday, Red State posted an article about the peace process in the Middle East and the return of the hostages. The return of the hostages (even though only 20 of them are alive) is an amazing accomplishment. That may be one of the reasons that former Secretary of State Antony Blinken is giving former President Biden credit for that accomplishment. What?

The article includes screenshots of some X posts:

First of all, Secretary Blinken might want to remember that over 70 percent of ‘Palestinians’ supported the actions of Hamas on October 7, 2023 (source here). The actions of Hamas on October 7, 2023, were clearly in violation of the rules of war that are generally agreed on internationally by civilized countries. Right now, there is a gang war going on in Gaza with Hamas killing anyone they think might have collaborated with Israel and rival gangs killing each other. Civilized behavior has not been a strong suit of the ‘Palestinians.’

The article at Red State continues:

Comparing the terrible ceasefire Blinken and Biden brokered to this one is so disingenuous. That ceasefire was never viable because it left hostages in the hands of Hamas, and it provided no path to disarm and fully defeat the terrorist group, instead demanding Israel essentially surrender. It was the typical warmed-over slop we’ve come to expect from the Obama/Biden axis of foreign policy expertise. 

At no point did the Biden administration apply any pressure on the Arab nations to turn against Hamas and end the war. More importantly, they never applied pressure on Iran, which was fueling the conflict in Gaza and propping up Hezbollah in the north as a threat. In short, the entire region was on fire, and it was handed over to Trump in far worse condition than Biden and company found it.

For Blinken to pretend the former administration laid the groundwork and showed the path forward is laughable. But he hadn’t reached peak shamelessness yet. That came later in his thread when he demanded the establishment of a Palestinian state. 

…This absolute clown. If you’ve been following this issue for any amount of time, you will understand how infuriating that is. The foreign policy establishment has insisted for decades that you could never get Arab buy-in, defeat Hamas, neuter Hezbollah, and limit Iran without giving the terrorists in Gaza a state. That issue was treated as the key to everything, basically becoming a tenet of faith and a bludgeon to beat Israel with. Trump walked in and proved them all wrong, securing the Abraham Accords and ending the war in Gaza by marginalizing the issue, and yet they are still claiming that a Palestinian state must be established. 

The article concludes:

Americans should be so thankful that no one is listening to these over-credentialed imbeciles anymore. The arsonists don’t get to wag their fingers and lecture the firefighters who put out their fires. They certainly don’t get to take credit for it. The foreign policy establishment is a joke, and it should be treated as such. 

Until the ‘Palestinians’ learn to act like civilized people, there is no reason to give them a state.

Why Now?

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Why is Hamas finally willing to make peace? Are they really willing to make peace? Keep in mind that Hamas has only agreed to Part 1 of the Peace Plan. Also remember that Hamas has never been an orphan before.

Let’s look at the past two years. Under the Biden administration, Israel was pretty much prevented from taking serious action against its enemies. When President Trump took office in January, he made it very clear that he supported Israel fully in dealing with its terrorist enemies. Since January, Israel has had America’s support to deal with the constant rocket attacks and terrorist attacks within its borders.

The Abraham accords under the first Trump administration were the beginning. They represented a peaceful initiative to isolate Hamas. The attacks on Iran, Lebanon and Yemen further cut off much of Hamas’ support, both diplomatically and logistically. The attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar made it clear that there would be no safe haven for Hamas. It also put the Middle East on alert as to the dangers of sheltering the leadership of Hamas.

By the time Israel invaded Gaza, Hamas was an orphan with no place to hide. That is the reason Hamas is finally negotiating peace.

This is not a perfect agreement. If it is carried out, the price of getting twenty or so live hostages freed from Hamas is the release of more than 1,000 known Hamas terrorists. It will be interesting to see if the terrorists are allowed back into Gaza. That will be a clue as to what happens next.

It will be very interesting to see if the peace process continues after the hostages are released and the requirements of Phase 1 are implemented. Part of Phase 1 calls for the Israeli Defense Forces to withdraw from much of Gaza. Will that be a clue for Hamas to resume fighting?

If you sense a lack of trust of Hamas on my part, you are correct. There are two principles of Islam that we need to keep in mind when dealing with Hamas–hudna and taqiyya. Hudna is the act of calling a truce so that you can rearm and then breaking the truce when you feel that you are strong enough to win the war. Taqiyya is generally described as lying for the sake of Islam. Hamas is Islamic and is well aware of both of these principles.

Some Common Sense On The Peace Deal

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Pamela Geller posted an article at The Geller Report with her analysis of the peace deal that has been reached with Hamas. I am not really sure a peace deal has been reached, but that is what most of the media is reporting. There is a concept in Islam called “Hudna.” Translated loosely, it means calling a truce so that you can re-arm.

The article reports:

Hamas’s response was delivered hours after Trump threatened Hamas in a post on Truth Social. They have dictated their terms for a hudna (temporary truce Islam  in order to rearm.)

Here is Hamas’s response. It appears to be written by a cabal of far-left international lawyers.

Hamas has agreed to release the hostages (if you believe what they say) but they insist on being part of the decisions for the future and governance of Gaza. They’re starting to take apart the plan, like they always do.

The article describes the reason for skepticism:

As of October 4, 2025, Hamas has issued a formal response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire proposal, which was unveiled earlier this week following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The plan outlines a phased end to the nearly two-year war, including the immediate release of all remaining Israeli hostages (around 100, per Israeli estimates), a temporary international administration for Gaza led by U.S. and Arab states, Hamas’s disarmament, and no future governance role for the group in the territory. Trump set a “three or four days” deadline for Hamas’s reply, warning of severe consequences for rejection.Key Elements of Hamas’s ResponseHamas conveyed its position through mediators in Qatar and Egypt late on October 3, framing it as a “responsible national stance” after consultations with other Palestinian factions. The response is cautiously positive but insists on negotiations for key revisions:

  • Acceptance of Core Elements: Hamas agrees to release all Israeli hostages as part of an immediate ceasefire, aligning with the plan’s first phase. This has been hailed by Trump as a major breakthrough, with him stating on Truth Social that “Hamas is ready for lasting peace” and calling for Israel to halt bombardment.
  • Demands for Changes:
    • Rejects full disarmament and the imposition of a foreign-led administration, viewing it as a “new form of occupation.” Instead, Hamas proposes Gaza’s future governance as an “internal Palestinian issue,” potentially under a unified Palestinian authority (excluding direct Hamas control but preserving resistance structures).
    • Calls for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an end to the blockade, and reconstruction guarantees before any power transition.
    • Omits explicit commitment to dismantling its military wing (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades), a red line for Israel.

Actually, I think Hamas simply wants the invasion of Gaza to stop. They will discuss further details while they re-arm.

Good News

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I am writing this on Saturday afternoon. The Epoch Times has just reported that Hamas has agreed to release all hostages in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan.

The article reports:

The group also said it has accepted parts of the peace proposal to end the war in Gaza, including giving up power, but noted that other provisions would require further consultations among Palestinians.

The announcement came after Trump gave Hamas until Oct. 5 to accept a deal to end the war between the terrorist group and Israel and release all the hostages. Trump announced the deadline in a post on Truth Social on Oct. 3.

…Hamas said it welcomed Trump’s proposal but sought clarification on certain provisions, adding that it would release all living hostages and hand over the bodies of those who have died.

I will admit to being more than a little skeptical. However, there may be some very good reasons for this. When the Arab nations joined with President Trump on the peace proposal, Hamas lost the public relations war. That is the only war they had a chance of winning. If the blockades have been successful, Hamas must be looking at a dwindling supply of ammunition, and I suspect their terrorists/soldiers are concerned about what will happen on October 6th. I will be surprised if this goes smoothly, but I also expect Israel to react without hesitation if it doesn’t. This needs to be watched closely.

The Ongoing Peace Process

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I am cautiously optimistic about the current plan for peace in the Middle East. However, I am not sure peace is possible without some serious cultural changes in the area.

One thing that works in favor of peace is President Trump’s understanding of economic leverage. As “drill, baby, drill” is implemented in America, the oil-rich countries in the Middle East lose a lot of clout in world politics. As radical Islam fights to keep its followers trapped in previous centuries, many moderate Muslims seek to join the modern world. The Abraham Accords represent dangling economic prosperity and the fruit of Israeli scientific research in front of the Arab world in exchange for putting aside animus toward Israel.

Remember, Israel is the country that has made the desert bloom.

There are some serious roadblocks to peace in the Middle East. Are the people who will live in Gaza going to continue to teach their children to be martyrs—to kill Jews in order to get to paradise? Are the people who will live in Gaza going to continue to pay money to families of martyrs who kill Jews? Will future maps in Gaza include Israel?

Hamas is currently backed into a corner. If they refuse the deal, they will probably be eliminated within weeks. If they agree to the deal, they survive, get their terrorists our of Israeli jails, and hope to rise again. If Hamas refuses the deal and Israel is forced to clear Gaza of Hamas by force, it is very unlikely that any hostages will be found alive. This deal is the only path toward getting any remaining hostages that are alive back alive.

It has been reported that President Trump has given Hamas four days to accept the peace plan.

I have no doubt that the civilized world wants to see peace in the Middle East. I’m just not sure how much of the Middle East wants to be part of the civilized world.

Our Upside-Down World

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On Tuesday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about the Israeli attack on the Hamas leaders in Qatar.

The article reports:

Several senior members of Hamas, the populist Palestinian political party, perished Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike while attempting to secure a lasting peace in the region. In other words, they died doing what they loved.

The strike occurred in Doha, Qatar, where many Hamas leaders have been residing in luxury since the group came into possession of several hundred Israeli combatants, sometimes referred to as “hostages,” on Oct. 7, 2023. The decision to seek refuge in Qatar was motivated by the Hamas leadership’s unwavering opposition to the colonialist violence taking place in Gaza, as well as a healthy fear of tunnels and other confined spaces.

The extent of the martyrdom has yet to be revealed. Israel was targeting four Hamas leaders, including chairman Khaled Meshaal and chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, who recently hosted talks with representatives from the notoriously pacifist nation of Iran. Their fates are unknown at this time, but Hamas officials told the New York Times that al-Hayya’s son and his office manager were incinerated in the attack. Al Jazeera, the Qatari-funded media conglomerate, reported that the strike occurred as a team of Hamas diplomats was meeting to consider a peace proposal drafted by the United States.

…Hamas allies were devastated by the apparent demise of their comrades. Former Obama adviser Tommy Vietor lashed out at Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who posted a GIF of a satisfied Winnie-the-Pooh in response to the news of Israel’s strike in Qatar. “I fucking hate this idiotic, childish memeification of deadly serious issues,” the Hamas advocate wrote on X. “Any hope of getting the remaining Israeli hostages out alive could be gone, any hope of ending the war in Gaza could be dead, and this clown is posting a Winnie-the-pooh gif.”

The article concludes

Sources tell the Washington Free Beacon that Vietor and his former colleague, Ben “Hamas” Rhodes, are preparing to nominate their fallen comrades for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Indeed, the civilized world would be foolish not to honor their sacrifice.

This nomination is not really a surprise considering it is coming from two members of the Obama administration. For more information on Ben Rhodes, follow this link.

Anyone who believes that Hamas’ goal in peace with Israel needs to look again. The Charter of Hamas calls for the elimination of Israel and has never been changed. Hamas does not want a two-state solution–they want a one-state solution with Israel gone. The maps being used to teach their children affirm that. Giving Hamas a Palestinian state would only pave the way for more October 7th attacks.

Going After The Leadership

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Qatar has played a double game in the Middle East for a long time. They claim to be a neutral broker in seeking peace between Israel and Hamas, yet the leadership of Hamas lives a luxurious lifestyle in Qatar. That luxurious lifestyle ran into a major snag recently.

On Tuesday, Red State reported:

A series of explosions rocked Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday as Israel targeted the living quarters of senior members of Hamas.

The Israeli Defense Forces posted the following on X:

The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and ISA (Israeli Security Agency) conducted a precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas terrorist organization.  

For years, these members of the Hamas leadership have led the terrorist organization’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel.  

Prior to the strike, measures were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions and additional intelligence. 

The IDF and ISA will continue to operate with determination in order to defeat the Hamas terrorist organization responsible for the October 7 massacre.

The article concludes:

If Qatar did approve the attacks, it indicates Hamas has nowhere left to run. It also suggests that the war in Gaza is not playing as well in the Arab world as it is in Manhattan and London.

Eliminating the top layer of Hamas leadership marks a departure from the past in two ways. First, it sends a signal that the days of cosplaying as a revolutionary while enjoying five-star meals and Russian hookers are over. Second, it means that Israel and Trump have decided that the Doha-based leadership were not good-faith negotiating partners, and they’ve decided to roll the dice on what comes next. I think that also has larger implications for the Ukraine war, where US policy since 2022 has been focused on Putin’s political survival.

It remains to be seen if Israel can turn this strategic masterstroke into operational gains and released hostages. It will take a couple of weeks for Hamas’s head to stop spinning and decide if the continued war is in its best interests.

Hopefully, this will bring the release of the hostages and the end of the war.

Coming Very Late To The Party

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As the pressure mounts on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, the countries who are supporting the idea of a Palestinian State seem to be overlooking one thing–the activities of the people of Gaza on October 7, 2023.

On August 14th, The Jewish News Syndicate reported:

With the second anniversary of the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7 looming, António Guterres, U.N. secretary-general, listed the terror organization for the first time in the annual “Report of the Secretary-General on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence,” which also put Israel and Russia “on notice.”

“Hamas was listed on the basis of information verified by the United Nations in 2024, indicating reasonable grounds to believe that some hostages taken to Gaza were subjected to different forms of sexual violence during their time in captivity,” the United Nations stated, “and clear and convincing information that sexual violence also occurred during the attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, in at least six locations.”

Though the U.N. release states there is “reasonable” evidence of such violence against captives and “clear and convincing” evidence of such violence on Oct. 7, Guterres’s report states the reverse.

In the documentary film “Screams Before Silence,” the sexual violence of October 7th is reported. The evidence is shown. The testimonies are given. There is no reason for the United Nations to wait almost two years before condemning the behavior.

Where is the United Nations’ cry for the release of the hostages held by Hamas that are still alive?

One of the major players in the United Nations is the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. This is a group of 57 nations (48 are Muslim-majority countries) that is a very powerful voting bloc in the United Nations. Because of this voting bloc, no action will ever be taken against a Muslim country that violates human rights. This voting bloc is also working to have the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights include an end to free speech and a penalty for blasphemy. Under Sharia Law, blasphemy has a very loose definition that can be applied to anyone making an unfavorable observation about Islam.

Any country supporting the formation of a Palestinian State is asking for the formation of a terrorist state funded by nations that are supposedly against terrorism.

 

Aiding Terrorists

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On Wednesday, The New York Post posted an article about a film that was removed from the Toronto Film Festival.

The article reports:

A new documentary about the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas has been booted from the Toronto International Film Festival — because organizers insist the filmmakers need the rights from the terrorist group to use their horrific footage of the massacre.

The festival claims the movie, called “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” did not meet certain requirements to screen at the prestigious September event, widely attended by Hollywood stars and bigwigs, including not securing so-called “legal clearance” to use Hamas’ livestreamed video of the rape, murder and kidnapping of Jews.

The stunned filmmakers, including Canadian director Barry Avrich, slammed the decision, telling Deadline that TIFF has “defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film.”

Avrich declined to comment further.

“The Road Between Us” tells the story of retired Israel Defense Forces General Noam Tibon, who set out to save his family and others during Hamas’ deadly attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

It includes widely seen videos taken by the terrorists of their murders of Israelis at the Nova music festival and in nearby communities.

While TIFF alleges they required permission from Hamas to use the footage, the documentary’s line producer, Talia Harris Ram, told the Times of Israel that their rationale was ridiculous.

The article includes pictures from the October 7th terrorist attack. Showing this film would remind people why Israel is attacking Gaza. Israel is trying to rescue any remaining hostages and also trying to insure that an October 7th attack never occurs again. As long as Hamas is allowed to exist in an area next to Israel, there will be a risk of another October 7th attack. The Hamas members who attacked Israel were the same people Israel routinely allowed into Israel on work permits because they could not find work in Gaza. When Israel left Gaza in 2005, Gaza quickly became a terrorist state. They dismantled the greenhouses that had provided income and jobs for the people of Gaza and used the water pipes to make rockets. What happened in Gaza after 2005 made it clear that a Palestinian state would have as its purpose the destruction of Israel. That is still part of the Hamas Charter.

Refusing to show a film that documents the truth is supporting a false narrative.

Doesn’t Anyone Remember That Israel Was The One Attacked?

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Almost two years ago, Israel was brutally attached by its neighbors living in the Gaza Strip. In 2005, Israel left the Gaza Strip, forcibly removing the Jews that lived there, and fully turning the area over to its Arab residents.  They allowed the residents to work in Israel if they could not find jobs in Gaza. These are the same Arab residents of Gaza who on October 7, 2023, brutally murdered the people who had helped them and took over 200 people hostage. Israel had no choice but to attack and attempt to rescue the hostages. Because the war has dragged on (partially because Israel has been so careful to avoid civilian casualties), public pressure on Israel to stop defending itself has increased. A few nations have begun to recognize a so-called Palestinian state, not realizing that the terrorist state behind October 7th was essentially a Palestinian state.

On Friday, Hot Air reported:

As lily-livered Western countries go wobbly on supporting Israel–The Arab League supports Israel’s policies more than Britain, France, or Canada–Israel is threatening to cut intelligence ties with its faithless “allies.”

…Diplomatic sources have told The Times that Binyamin Netanyahu’s government is examining the response as one of a range of options if Britain presses ahead with Palestinian recognition next month.

An official warned that Britain and other countries considering diplomatic recognition should “carefully consider” the consequences of such a move.

Another diplomatic source said: “London needs to be careful because Bibi [Netanyahu] and his ministers have cards they could play too. Israel values its partnership with the UK but recent decisions mean it is coming under pressure and the UK has a lot to lose if Israel’s government decides to take steps in response.”

Israel has reacted furiously to the decision by Starmer, accusing him of handing Hamas a “prize for terror” by going ahead with recognition outside of a peace process and before the remaining hostages are released. Starmer has said Britain will recognise the state of Palestine next month unless Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process.

All you need to end the war is for Hamas to release the hostages and surrender. Why are you calling for the victim of the attack to surrender rather than the attacker?

Never Again Is Now

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Hamas recently released a video of Israeli hostage Evyatar David being forced to dig his own grave in a tunnel underneath Gaza. He looks like the people the allied forces rescued from the concentration camps in the 1940’s. Yet somehow there is no outrage–only cries for a Palestinian state. That makes no sense. Where were those cries when the land in question was owned by Egypt and Jordan?

On Saturday, Breitbart reported:

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas filmed Israeli hostage Evyatar David being forced to dig his own grave in a tunnel underneath Gaza, in a propaganda video meant to pressure the Israeli government to end the war.

The war will end when Hamas surrenders and releases the hostages.

The article concludes:

Images of starving Palestinian children, many of them fake or misleading, have flooded the international media, though the only people confirmed to be starving are the remaining 20 or so living Israeli hostages.

It is telling that none of the countries in the region or Israel are interested in taking in the Palestinian refugees.

The article contains a video released by Hamas.

A Prelude To The End Of The War?

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On Thursday, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article about the rapid changes happening in the war in Gaza. Hamas is in an awkward position now that a lot of the leadership in Iran has been removed. It is not clear how much funding Hamas continues to get from Iran. Evidently other countries in the Middle East have taken note of the recent actions against Iran.

The article reports:

Symbolic? Maybe, maybe not. If true, Hamas leaders didn’t just get a soft ultimatum from Donald Trump this week. 

Yesterday, Trump warned Hamas that the final deal for a cease-fire in Gaza was on the table, and that all other options would get “MUCH WORSE.” Qatar may have decided to raise the stakes to something more personal for Hamas’ billionaire clique in Doha:

Doha-based senior Hamas leaders have been told to lay down their arms as part of the efforts to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel, according to a Thursday morning report from The Times newspaper. …

The Times stated that those told to lay down their weapons were “the most senior Hamas leaders outside Gaza,  including the lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and other key figures.”

One of the key figures reportedly included Hamas political ­bureau member Zaher Jabareen, “a founder of the group’s military wing in the West Bank.”

An additional bureau member told to lay down weapons was Muhammad Ismail Darwish, who had “met the leaders of Iran and Turkey this year while shuttling between Cairo and Doha for indirect negotiations with Israel,” the report said.

The Times credits this as a “symbolic reflection of Hamas’ interest in the ceasefire proposal,” but that doesn’t make much sense. If Hamas wanted to send that kind of signal, their Qatar contingent would have voluntarily and unilaterally disarmed. They wouldn’t have needed the Qataris to order them to disarm.

That makes this sound like a much different kind of signal. The Qataris are likely as tired of playing the Hamas Hokey Pokey as everyone else, for one thing, while their leadership fattens up on “aid” meant for Palestinians. However, it may mean more than that, especially after the strike on Fordow by Trump and the B-2 bombers. That didn’t just send a signal to Tehran, but to Doha as well — and the rocket fire on Qatar afterward probably didn’t help, either.

This is definitely a wait-and-see moment. It is very possible that the attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities may have had a larger impact than initially realized.

Food As A Weapon

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On Friday, Breitbart posted an article about an apology issued by MSNBC. Fake news can result in serious consequences, and the story originally put out by MSNBC was misleading and dangerous.

The article reports:

MSNBC issued an on-air correction on Morning Joe Friday after Middle East correspondent Matt Bradley falsely reported Palestinians had been killed in Gaza while waiting for aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

On Thursday, Bradley had been introducing a video package about “controversial aid sites” run by GHF in Gaza. It was the latest in a series of mainstream media efforts to discredit the organization, which is currently the main provider of food aid in Gaza, distributing 2 to 3 million meals a day.

The United Nations and Hamas both oppose GHF because it undermines their role and power in Gaza.

Bradley’s report repeated familiar, and false, accusations that GHF is dangerous for Palestinians, and went even further than others had gone, targeting GHF executive chairman Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore because of his “evangelical Christian ideology” and his alleged “somewhat messianic perspective on Israel.”

In introducing the report, Bradley said: “We’re still seeing massive numbers of casualties every single day. And actually, a lot of those folks are killed, and have been killed, waiting in line for much-needed food being distributed by a U.S.-backed organization that has attracted a lot of criticism and a lot of scrutiny. This effort just had its bloodiest day two days ago, when around 60 people were shot dead while waiting in line.”

As Breitbart News has noted, such reports have been false: no deaths or injuries have ever taken place at GHF aid distribution sides. Hamas and others opposed to GHF have spread fake news in an effort to discredit the organization; mainstream media outlets have often repeated these claims, only to retract them later.

Misreporting like this only makes the situation in Gaza worse. Hamas and the United Nations have used the scarcity of food to control the population. The GHF food is a threat to that control.

Aeschylus is credited with saying, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” That is especially true in Middle East reporting.

Stating The Obvious

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War is a horrible thing, but sometimes it is necessary. The Bible notes that there is, “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” I am not sure that this is the time for peace in the Middle East, and evidently I am not the only person feeling that way.

On June 16th, John Hinderaker posted the following at Power Line Blog:

With respect to Israel and Iran, talk of peace is in the air. We are beset with calls from various quarters to “de-escalate” the situation there, lest wider war break out. President Trump, who partnered with Israel in deceiving Iran prior to Israel’s preemptive strike, is now talking about making another deal with Iran.

I hope he doesn’t mean it. The last thing Israel, or anyone else, should be thinking about is another agreement with the mullahs. Israel now controls the skies, has largely degraded Iran’s missile capability, and can do pretty much anything it wants, militarily. It was delightful to see that Israel wiped out the regime’s state broadcaster.

So this is a golden opportunity, almost certainly the best one Israel ever has had, or ever will have, to bring about regime change in Iran. The mullahocracy needs to go. Neither Israel nor the rest of the world will ever be safe, as long as Islamic extremists control Iran. Israel has already demolished Iran’s proxies, Hamas, Hezbollah, and, to a lesser extent, the Houthis. But if Iran’s regime is allowed to stay in place, it will readily rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, just as it will eventually rebuild its nuclear capability.

I agree with the idea of removing the Iranian theocracy, but I am concerned about what will replace it. First of all, America, covertly or openly, should not be involved in any regime change in Iran. Our track record there is not good–we installed the Shah, and that did not turn out well. I am not sure that we ever fomented a color revolution anywhere that actually turned out well. The Iranians need to be free to choose their own future without outside interference.

Fake News Has Consequences

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On Sunday, Red State posted an article about the terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday. The article noted that the attack took place hours after CNN, the Associated Press, Fox News, and other news outlets reported a fake story about Israeli soldiers massacring Gazans at an aid distribution center. The story simply was not true. I doubt that story alone was enough to inspire a terrorist who probably already had planned his attack, but how many future terrorists will it inspire before it is totally renounced as ‘fake news?’

The article reports:

Israel supporters marching at a memorial walk for the hostages still being held by Hamas were attacked with Molotov cocktails on Sunday, according to multiple reports. Videos of the aftermath are already circulating, and an alleged assailant is in custody.

…While officials from Boulder, a notoriously left-wing city, urged people not to jump to conclusions, there is no doubt what the motive was. The attacker can be seen saying, “This will end when Palestine is free,” in this  video.

The terrorist has missed the point–Palestine (which has never actually been a country) needs to be free of Hamas. Since that is not possible, the people of the Gaza Strip need to be relocated to a place where they can live in peace. If you look at a map of the Middle East, you realize that the Arab countries have a lot of land and that Israel has a very small amount of land. Logically, if you want a country of Palestine, it could easily be given a small piece of Arab land to live happily every after. The reason that has never happened is that as long as there is no official Palestinian state and the ‘refugees’ have no home, the Arabs can use that as an issue in their fight to eliminate Israel.

The article concludes:

This is what happens when national and international press outlets run with an obviously fake blood libel fed to them by Hamas. Just like the two murdered Israeli embassy workers in mid-May, there are consequences to riling up deranged lunatics who want a “global intifada.” 

The Thinking Behind October 7th

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On May 18th, Zero Hedge posted an article about what is considered the reason behind the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2024. I suspect there are many in Hamas who currently wish they could rethink that attack.

According to the article:

Newly uncovered internal Hamas documents confirm a longtime theory explaining the motives behind the Oct.7, 2023 terror attack which kicked off the bloody and grinding Gaza war, which still shows no signs of abating and has resulted in unprecedented death and destruction in the Gaza Strip.

The documents, published by The Wall Street Journal, demonstrate that Hamas leaders had a specific aim of preventing a potential peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia based on the US-backed Abraham Accords. This was speculated about soon after the horrific attacks that also kicked off the hostage crisis.

This is according to minutes from a high-level meeting which cite now slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and which were reportedly discovered by Israeli forces in Gaza tunnels. Sinwar was quoted in the internal papers, which are dated Oct. 2, 2023 – as saying, “There is no doubt that the Saudi-Zionist normalization agreement is progressing significantly.”

The article concludes:

And the prospect of Palestinian statehood resulting from some kind of Israel-Saudi normalization agreement based on Trump’s Abraham Accords (conceived during his first administration) – which US media reports previously hailed as ‘deal of the century’ – also clearly seems a pipe dream at this point.

In this regard at least, Sinyar’s ‘extraordinary act’ served its purpose, but the bloody aftermath is thousands of Israelis killed, many tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and wounded, and a region on fire.

So what would Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords mean and why is it important? The two negative players in the Middle East right now are Iran and Turkey. Turkey, unfortunately is a member of NATO, which complicates things. A majority of the Middle Eastern countries do not want Iran to get a nuclear bomb. They understand that even if the bomb is only used on Israel it will negatively impact them–radiation, infrastructure damage, etc. Iran is funding Hamas. If Iran is isolated, it may lose the ability to fund Hamas. Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords might be the domino that falls and paves the way for other countries to join. Iran would be isolated, and the money to Hamas would probably dry up. October 7th was an act of desperation. I don’t think Hamas got the results they wanted–Israel is not going to stop fighting this time.

Oddly Enough, War Is Supposed To Have Rules

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According to Britannica:

The development of the Geneva Conventions was closely associated with the Red Cross, whose founder, Henri Dunant, initiated international negotiations that produced the Convention for the Amelioration of the Wounded in Time of War in 1864.

…Because some belligerents in World War II had abused the principles contained in earlier conventions, an International Red Cross conference in Stockholm in 1948 extended and codified the existing provisions. The conference developed four conventions, which were approved in Geneva on August 12, 1949: (1) the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, (2) the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, (3) the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and (4) the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.

These are supposed to be “the rules of war.” Hamas does not follow them, and humanitarian groups choose to overlook that fact.

On Friday, The Washington Free Beacon posted an article about an investigation, conducted by the Henry Jackson Society’s Centre for the New Middle East.

The article reports:

The United Nations and its network of international NGOs have systematically whitewashed Hamas’s reliance on human shields in Gaza, sweeping aside mountains of evidence revealing how the terror group intentionally places civilians in harm’s way to maximize bloodshed, a new report finds.

The first-of-its-kind investigation, conducted by the Henry Jackson Society’s Centre for the New Middle East, presents “the ‘missing chapter’ in all the U.N. and NGO reports” issued since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Its authors reveal in detail how the terror group transformed civilian residences and infrastructure into military outposts, all while evading international scrutiny.

The article cites incidents such as placing mines among children’s toys and storing rockets in a child’s bed. Hamas has also reportedly hidden entrances to their tunnels in children’s bedrooms. The terrorist group has long been known to use civilians as shields. That is what makes it so difficult for Israel to fight Hamas without killing civilians.

The article notes:

Hamas members have admitted the terror group’s attitude toward civilian casualties in Gaza. The day after Oct. 7, for instance, Hamas official Ali Baraka told Russia Today TV that “the Israelis are known to love life. We, on the other hand, sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead to be martyrs.”

Terrorists’ admissions of their own tactics have not prompted the U.N. to acknowledge them. In one notable display noted in the Henry Jackson Society compilation, a U.N. official said “word count” prevented the international body from noting Hamas’s reliance on human shields in a June 2024 report on “Children and Armed Conflict.”

…High-profile human rights organizations that work alongside the U.N. have also downplayed—or outright ignored—Hamas’s intentional endangerment of civilians.

One such group, Amnesty International—known for its hostility to Israel—released a December 2024 report accusing the Jewish state of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza. The 296-page report, You Feel Like You Are Subhuman: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, barely mentions Hamas’s battlefield tactics, the Henry Jackson Society’s analysis shows.

Much like the ICJ’s filing, Amnesty International “deliberately omits any discussion of Hamas’s extensive tunnel network,” mentioning them only in the context of Israeli military operations.

A 2024 report from Human Rights Watch contained similar accusations of genocide without any discussion of Hamas’s tactics.

There are a lot of causes for the irrational anti-Semitism that is rampant around the world right now. A media that fails to report the truth is one of them.