LOS ANGELES.–White House officials said today they don’t believe Israel’s operation in Gaza will eliminate the Hamas military group. Well, that’s not a concern of Israel, only ridding the Gaza Strip of Hamas rule. Whether or not Hamas survives as a terror group, the issue for Israel involves a terror group ruling Gaza and plotting its next attack on the Jewish State. Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987 to serve as a military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], founded in 1964 by Yasser Arafat, also with the intent of destroying Israel. But two major wars, one in 1967 the other in 1973, proved that Palestinians and the Arab states can’t beat Israel in an armed conflict. So, if White House officials think as a terror group Hamas can’t be defeated it’s a moot point. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the most battle-tested leader in Israel, can’t live with Hamas.
National Security Spokesman John Kirby tried to give the White House position on an Israeli operation in Gaza. “Smashing into Rafah, in his [Biden’s] view, will not advance that objective,” Kirby told reporters, not knowing of course what the Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] operation would entail. White House officials know that there are about four Hamas battalions left in Rafah to defend Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his military chief Mohammed Deif, both involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre that raped, tortured and murdered 1,200 Israelis, taking another 250 hostages. Kirby hinted that there are better ways to deal with the Rafah situation than rushing into Rafah but without specifying what he would recommend to Israel. “The argument that somehow we’re walking away from Israel, or we’re not willing to help them defeat Hamas just doesn’t comport with the facts,” Kirby said.
Mediators from the U.S., Qatar and Cairo haven’t succeeded in getting Hamas to offer a realistic plan for ending the seventh-month old war. Israel isn’t willing to accept Israeli corpses in exchange for able-bodied prisoners from Israeli jails. Netanyahu refuses to accept Hamas as a ruling authority in Gaza, making you wonder why mediators haven’t tried to broker exile deals for Hamas leaders still holed up in Gaza’s military tunnels. Seeking to get Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and militant chief Mohammed Deif, Netanyahu isn’t willing to let them stay in control of the Gaza Strip. White House officials can’t have it both ways, putting limits on Israel’s Rafah operation while stating they want Hamas out of Gaza. If anything helps mediation in Cairo, it’s that Netanyahu continues to put military pressure on Hamas in Rafah. If Hamas stays in Gaza, it helps no one.
Negotiations are stalled out in Cairo because Hamas wants to preserve its charter to destroy Israel but enter into a ceasefire arrangement so it can regroup and arm for the next military resistance against Israel. When Sept. 11, 2001 happened, Palestinians celebrated in the territories, largely supporting Osama bin Laden’s attacks on New York Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Former President George W. Bush said after Sep. 11 the U.S. would oppose any military group that uses terrorism to achieve its political ends, including Palestinians. Arafat was blindsided after Sept. 11, told the U.S. could no longer accept any terrorism masquerading as “resistance,” in the name of Palestine liberation. Biden know that Hamas is U.S.-recognized terror group that practices terror to achieve its political objectives, has no intention of changing its charter of destroying Israel
With the United Nations voting today to approve full Palestinian membership, there’s a strange disconnect with the current war with Hamas in Gaza. U.N. member states voted to approve in its current political state with Hamas in power full U.N. membership for Palestine. Accepting full U.N. membership without any workable leadership in the Palestinian territories defines putting the cart-before-the-horse. Hamas must be gone and new leadership in Palestine before any U.N. approval for full membership can be valid. “We still believe that there’ a path forward, but it’s gonna take some leadership on both sides,” Kirby said. When it comes to the current ceasefire deal, it’s unrealistic for Hamas to negotiate itself a permanent place to lead the Gaza Strip after its leaders have plundered Gaza’s resources in the most egregious corruption every seen.
White House officials offer Israel nothing concrete about holding off on its Rafah ground operation, as if they can’t trust Hamas to change its ways. “That’s a choice that Israel will have to make,” Kirby said, referring to the operation in Rafah. “And it’s one we hope they don’t,” Kirby said, knowing that there’s no other way for Israel to get rid of Hamas. Hamas will fight for the last drop of blood in Rafah but, in the end, it should make no difference. Hamas’s chief mediators in Cairo are all billionaires from plundering the Gaza Strip for the last 17 years. Kirby knows that terror groups like Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS can’t be trusted in any negotiations. Yet for some reason, most likely political, the White House opposes Israel’s difficult task of getting rid of Hamas. No future Palestinian donor, like the oil-rich Gulf States, can trust Hamas to do anything but plunder Gaza.
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.
