Making a deal with the devil, U.S. and Israel consider a deal with Hamas, controlled by 61-year-old former Israeli prisoner Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7 slaughter of 1,200 Israelis near the Gaza border. Sinwar thought he executed a master plan to topple the Israeli government, kill all Jews and takeover Israel. Hamas is chartered with one purpose, to destroy Israel and kill all Jews. Now Sinwar leads the negotiations to exchange hostages for a temporary ceasefire, now that the Gaza Strip has been reduced to ruins. Forget about how Hamas uses hospitals, U.N. agencies, schools, etc. for Hamas command-and-control centers, that goes with the territory. But now Israeli Prime Minister Benjanin Netanyahu goes against his instincts to make a deal with Sinwar who holds some 240 hostages as negotiation bait to squeeze concessions from Israel.
Netanyahu knows that any deal with Hamas is bound to fail, since the terrorist group has only one mission, to destroy Israel. Under U.S. pressure, Netanyahu has violated Israel’s longstanding terrorism policy to treat hostages like soldiers, not to negotiate for their release, knowing how it would compromise Israeli national security. Siwar deliberately slaughtered over 1,200 Israelis and others, taking some 240 hostages, knowing they would be used to help Hamas survive the Israeli war that has destroyed most of Gaza. Sinwar wants all Palestinians held in Israeli jails released, just like he was in 2011, when Israel negotiated the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, held for years in Hamas captivity. Under current negotiations with Qatar as mediator, Hamas apparently agreed to release only 50 women-and-children, in the first of expected prisoner exchange.
President Joe Biden, 81, said the U.S. and Israel are very close to a deal, refusing to give any details because of the sensitive nature of negotiations. What Biden knows for sure, is that the U.S. and Israel negotiate with madmen, hell-bent of genocide as the only way of achieving their political aims. Even 87-year-old Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority [PA] President Mahoud Abbas won’t condemn Hamas for the Oct. 7 massacre. Instead, he cites conspiracy theory press reports saying that Israeli helicopter guntships slaughtered Israeli civilians. Abbas hopes to not end up like Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] founder Yasser Arafat who was poisoned by Hamas Nov. 11, 2004. Biden thinks that Abbas should take over the sovereignty of the Gaza Strip, knowing he’d be murdered in a heartbeat. Biden knows that Abbas has no authority to take over the Gaza Strip.
Biden has demonstrated little understanding to the treacherous dynamics dealing with terror group like Hamas. You’d think Biden would have some savvy living through Sept. 11, knowing what it would be like to negotiate with Osama bin Landen. It would have been unthinkable for the U.S. to negotiate with Bin Laden, how’s that different now dealing with Sinwar. Whether or not Israel or the U.S. gest back any hostages, what are the costs? How much cash or other concessions did it take to bring back the hostages? Biden wants some hostages returned to help his sagging approval ratings, now under 40% heading into 2024. Biden wants four more years to hit the U.S. with a wrecking ball, destroying the economy and U.S. foreign policy and national security. Voters can’t allow Biden to do more damage to the country, already reeling from his incompetence.
If Biden and Netanyahu give Hamas truckloads of supplies and diesel fuel, they’ll reload, buying the terror group more time to outlast Israel in Gaza’s vast tunnel network. Getting back some token hostages will only make the U.S. and Israel weak. Hamas should return all the hostages or continue to face an unrrleneting onslaught by the IDF, realizing the deal-making only delays the inevitable. Hamas wants supplies to fuel its tunnel network, hoping to outlive Gaza’s beleaguered civilian population. Netanyahu has not taken a hard stance that all the hostages should be returned without conditions before discussing a ceasefire. If Sinwar still controls nearly 200 hostages, how is Israel going to have the leverage to get Hamas out of Gaza when it’s holed up in its military tunnels?
Negotiating with Sinwar won’t end well for whatever hostages he has left to torture and murder. Hamas has only one think in mind when it comes to Israel: Destroying the Jewish State and killing all Jews. Biden kds himself looking to boost his approval ratings before the 2024 presidential election. Biden should have told Siwar, not through Qatar, but directly all hostages must be related before any other discussions. With Iran backing Hamas and Suprem Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declaring victory on Israel, it’s time that Biden go after Iran, not just if proxy fighters in Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraq, Syia, etc. Biden watched U.S. forces attacked over 60 times before allowing troops in Iraq to respond. What kind of leadership is that? Biden must deal directly with Iran or expect more U.S. troops hit in all parts of the globe. Biden projects weakness, not strength.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
