President Trump says that everyone is on board with his Middle East peace plan leaving the end of the Israel-Gaza war up to Hamas.

 

Action shot of a bombing in Gaza. NBC/Getty.

President Trump says that they are close to deal that would end the Gaza war. NBC. Trump said in a meeting with Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu that the end of the war could be close, but warned Hamas that Israel would be allowed to do what they want if they don't agree to end the war. There is a 20 point plan that Israel, along with Arab powers in the region and the Palestinian authority, have agreed to. It would involve Hamas releasing hostages, Hamas laying down their weapons and giving up power and a general amnesty or voluntary exile for Hamas members. An international committee would temporarily take control of Gaza until the Palestinian Authority would be able to take over. Trump has been critical of Israel for plans to take all of Gaza and the strike on Hamas leadership in Qatar. Trump was able to secure an apology from Israel for the strike, which killed a Qatari serviceman. 

My Comment:

Given how Hamas has essentially lost the war, they should absolutely pounce on this deal. Given that Israel has taken the gloves off, they would likely face antihalation if they did not accept it. Israel seems very angry about this war and I don't think they will leave the job unfinished. 

Does that mean that Hamas will take the deal? Of course not. They have continued this war well beyond the terms of sanity. If they had been smart they would have ended the war years ago, or never launched it in the first place. 

The problem is that Hamas are radicals, even by the standards of the region. They believe that all of Israel is theirs and their radical Islamic beliefs tell them that God is on their side. They are also obsessed with power and are in no way ready to lay down their arms and give up power. They simply aren't going to want to give up what they have. 

That doesn't mean that a deal is impossible though. Trump is right that he got most of the region on board and Hamas could face intense pressure from the Muslim powers in the region to lay down their arms. They could also face reduced aid from those countries, which Hamas needs if they want to survive. 

I do think that the position of Hamas and the people of Gaza is probably different. The people there have to be sick of the airstrikes and battles and the stealing of food aid from Hamas. They probably hate Israel as well, but at this point they have to understand that the October 7th attacks was an obvious mistake. They also might like the amount of aid and help promised in this deal and they might be able to pressure Hamas to take the deal. 

If anyone can pull this off it is Trump. He's ended quite a few wars since he got back into office and he is a true diplomat. But Israel-Hamas is a tough nut to crack and he already had one deal fall apart. Can he pull it off here? I hope so. 

I really do think that this war needs to end. Though the war does not have any real affect on me directly and I have zero sympathy for anyone from Gaza, I am more than ready for this war to be over. I hate how deranged people have come because of it and how much of a rallying cry it has become for the left. If the war were to finally end it would take away one of the major recruitment efforts for the left.