Spoiler alert: Hamas won’t sign the deal. Qatar knows that. Egypt knows that. Even Turkey knows it, while trying to replace Qatar as Terrorist Rick’s Cafe from Casablanca.
However, they also know that this is the last deal the US and Israel will countenance. And they want a deal more than they want an Israeli conquest of Gaza, which is what will happen without a deal:
Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are urging Hamas to give a positive response to President Trump’s proposal for ending the war in Gaza, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks.
Why it matters: The three countries are the mediators with the closest ties to Hamas and primary responsibility for passing messages between the group and Israel and the U.S. Top officials of those countries have met Hamas leaders twice in the last 24 hours. …
While the plan gives Hamas a lot of what it wanted, like the release of 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and a surge in humanitarian aid, it also includes significant concessions — some of which were added at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- The plan calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal and for Hamas to fully disarm, something it has refused to do up to now.
- Some of the changes on the conditions and timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza infuriated Arab officials, and might be hard for Hamas to accept.
Child, please. It won’t be “hard” for Hamas to accept disarmament and withdrawal. It will be impossible for them to accept those terms. They want nothing else but to annihilate Israel and either kill or enslave every non-Muslim within its borders. “From the river to the sea” is more than just a slogan; it is a distillation of their core mission, without which they have no reason to exist. One might have well just asked the Nazis to accept a peace plan that integrated Jews into its national life and agreed to fully disarm in 1944, before D-Day and the Soviet offensives. The results would have been the same.
Will Hamas issue an outright rejection? They will likely play the Hamas Hokey Pokey instead, at least for one spin on the dance floor. They’ll issue some vaguely positive “reaction,” and then issue demands to restructure the terms of the proposal to allow themselves to remain armed and in control of post-war Gaza. That dance is just about over, however, as the IDF has just about completed its encirclement of Gaza City:
The IDF confirms it has “operational control” over the western portion of the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, preventing Palestinians from returning to Gaza City. …
Southbound movement from Gaza City is still permitted, though Defense Minister Israel Katz said Palestinians would need to go through army checkpoints. He said earlier today that civilians now have their “last opportunity” to leave.
When the IDF finishes its encirclement, the siege will begin in earnest, and perhaps the step-off to a complete reduction of Gaza City. The Israelis have warned civilians to get out for weeks now, and have tried to facilitate that process. Hamas has refused to allow it, hoping to retain its human shields to restrain the IDF from a full finish to the war Hamas started two years ago. Whatever happens, the end will come quickly, as Donald Trump warned that Hamas has only “three or four days” to accept these terms and capitulate. Whatever the Israelis plan to do, they plan to do fast.
So what will Hamas do? The BBC hears that they may not even bother with the Hamas Hokey Pokey at this point:
Hamas will likely reject US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan that would end the war in Gaza and see the release of the remaining 48 hostages, a senior official of the terrorist organization told the BBC on Wednesday.
The British public-service broadcaster cited the official saying that the plan “serves Israel’s interests” and “ignores those of the Palestinian people.”
The official added that Hamas also refuses to disarm and surrender its weapons. It also rejects any presence of an “International Stabilization Force” in the Gaza Strip, both of which are conditions in Trump’s plan, the BBC noted.
CBS News heard something different, so these may be trial balloons for different constituencies and audiences. They may be telling American media one thing and British media something else entirely; Hamas likely believes (with justification) that they have more leverage in the UK than in the US. However, just playing this game alone shows how unserious Hamas is about its current situation in Gaza, and the danger they have created for themselves with this war. The Israelis want an end to 20 years of Hamas’ wars and provocations, and this time they are poised to properly finish the job.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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