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On Monday, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled an elaborate 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza. The plan, crafted by the Trump administration and requiring the immediate return of all Israeli hostages and the complete disarmament of Hamas, was quickly accepted by Israel, eight Muslim-majority countries, and the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority. The big question remaining, as of this writing, is this: Will Hamas do the same? Moreover, even if Hamas “accepts” the terms of the deal, what does that actually mean in practice?
The answers to these questions seem to me to be fairly obvious, and render the rest of the conversation about the finer details of the 20-point plan largely moot.
Hamas is unlikely to accept the deal for a very simple reason: Hamas is a fanatical seventh century-aspiring sharia supremacist death cult that has as its exclusive maximalist goals the death and destruction of every Israeli, every Jew, and every other “infidel” (i.e., anyone who is not a sharia supremacist Sunni Muslim) in the world. It’s all laid out clearly in the terrorist organization’s harrowing 1988 founding charter. Even if Hamas purports to “accept” the deal, furthermore, the odds the group would then immediately violate its terms are pretty much close to 100%.
One way or another, then, this plan is extraordinarily unlikely to be implemented. If one were a true cynic, one might suggest it was actually designed to fail. And perhaps it is. Because even if (when) the deal implodes, two important things will, in hindsight, have been accomplished.
First, the Trump administration, through this latest peace initiative, will have only further buttressed its diplomatic credentials and statesmanship bona fides in the eyes of an ever-skeptical world. Second, and even more important, if (when) Hamas rejects or fails to abide by the terms of the deal, Israel’s final push to eradicate Hamas from Gaza will only be further legitimized in the eyes of both the American public and the Israeli public.
Despite some very suspect and questionable details in the 20-point plan, then, this is likely to have a good ending. If I am right, then Israel’s hand will be strengthened—and so will America’s. Hamas, on the other hand, looks to be even further weakened and isolated. That is a good result.
Is this all 4-D chess from Trump and Netanyahu? Maybe—but maybe not. Regardless, one thing is entirely certain: The war in Gaza will end with Hamas gone, all hostages retrieved, and Israel victorious. As Netanyahu said on Monday at the White House, Hamas can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Let’s see what the jihadists choose.
To keep up with me, follow me on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook. You can listen to all episodes of “The Josh Hammer Show” at the Newsweekwebsite or on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts—as well as select radio stations across the country. Make sure to also order my book, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West! (Signed copies are available for purchase!)
Our additional highlighted recent Newsweek op-eds include selections from Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-Alaska), and various House Freedom Caucus members.
Have a great rest of your week! And to my Jewish readers, I wish you a gmar chatima tovah—may you be sealed in the Book of Life.
Spotlight
The Folly of ‘Palestinian’ Statehood
Four of America’s nominally closest allies—Britain, Australia, France, and Canada—disgraced themselves this week by recognizing a so-called Palestinian state. In so doing, these nations didn’t merely betray the broader Western civilizational inheritance to which they lay claim. They also rewarded terrorism, strengthened the genocidal ambitions of the global jihad, and sent a bona fide chilling message: The path to international legitimacy runs not through the difficult work of building up a nation-state and engaging in subsequent diplomacy, but through mass murder, the weaponization of transnational institutions, and the erasure of historical truth.
Read the full column.
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