About That Deal

As was widely reported, Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire deal. To the extent that the deal happened when it did, everyone knows it was because of Hamas’s fear of Donald Trump.

Nonetheless, many pro-Israel advocates, including me, agree that for many reasons it is not a great deal. I believe that whatever issues caused the initial delay in advancing the deal will be sorted out in time for some hostages to be released by Inauguration Day as part of the first phase of implementation.

But as we get to the second and third phases of this deal, I have a hard time seeing how it all happens. In later phases of the deal, Hamas agreed to give up power in Gaza, and Israel agreed to withdraw troops from Gaza. And it certainly does not mean that there will be peace.

A senior Hamas leader said this week that October 7th will remain a “source of pride” for the Palestinian people, and he vowed to destroy the state of Israel. Watch this video. October 7th was barbaric and evil. No deal or treaty will stop this hate.

The Hamas spokesman also said that the Palestinian people “served as an impenetrable shield for their resistance [Hamas].”

Yes, they did -- they didn’t have much choice. Hamas exploits the Palestinian people as human shields while they hide in tunnels paid for by western aid dollars.

Then Hamas exploits the Palestinian people again by using their deaths as propaganda against Israel, which is repeated on our university campuses and by the growing anti-Israel wing of the progressive movement.

These Islamic supremacist forces must be completely crushed until there is not one gene in their body left that holds out any hope they could succeed in destroying Israel. Then and only then there might be a chance for peace.