LOS ANGELES.–Billionaire Hamas leader in exile 62-year-old Ismali Haniyeh says Hamas cannot support President Joe Biden’s ceasefire plan because it does not call for a permanent end to the Gaza War. Hamas wants a deal that allows it to stay in power. Why not? Haniyeh and his junta have been plundering the donor wealth of Gaza for the last 18 years, enriching himself to the tune of $4 billion, his compatriots Khaled Meshaal $4 billion and Abu Marzouk $3 billion, making any deal to remove Hamas from power a matter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continuing his war in Rafah. Netanyahu, while reluctantly going along with the Biden plan, knows Hamas must be eliminated not only for Israeli national security but for the future of ordinary Palestinians living in Gaza. Gaza citizens are starting to realize that Hamas has plundered the Gaza Strip 18 years years.
No one can deny that Haniyeh, Meshaal and Marzouk became billionaires in the biggest heist of a country’s wealth in world history. No oil-rich donor Gulf State can support Hamas any longer knowing that they’ve looted Hamas since seizing the Mediterranean territory from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority since 2007. “The movement and factions of the resistance will deal seriously and positively with any agreement that is based on a comprehensive ending of the aggression and the complete withdrawal and prisoners swap,” Haniyeh said, rebuffing Biden’s phased in ceasefire plan. Haniyeh thinks he’s calling the shots from Cairo where negotiations with Egypt and Qatar focus only on Hamas survival than realistic ceasefire plans. Haniyeh speaks for Hamas because he looted the Gaza Strip for 18 years, stealing donor cash designated to rebuild the territory.
Hamas has the fake news jumping through hoops, spreading fraudulent data about Gaza civilian casualties since the start of the war. Haniyeh thinks he can manufacture enough lies in the global press to heap pressure on the U.S. and Israel to end the conflict. U.S. and Israel both know that Hamas is a terror group that has only one purpose: The destruction of Israel. Since it lacks the resources to accomplish its goal, it continues terrorist acts all justified as “resistance” to Israeli occupation of Arab lands. Hamas was founded by paraplegic, blind Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987 to serve as the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], the group founded by Yasser Arafat in 1964 to liberate Arab lands from Jewish control. Arafat’s dreams came crashing down in the 1967 Six Day War when Israel defeated the PLO and armies of six Arab states, including Egypt.
Hamas considers Biden an ally of Israel and would not accept any proposal that would not allow the terror group to continue plundering Gaza for the indefinite future. Hamas wants a permanent end to the Gaza War but won’t offer a permanent truce against the Jewish State. Arafat referred to Arabs living in the Holy Land as Palestinians but never complained or rebelled when they lived under Ottoman Turk and British rule for over 500 years. There were no wars, intifadas [uprisings] or revolts under Ottoman or British rule, never talking about occupation until the Jews received the British Mandate of Palestine in 1948. Arabs living in the Holy Land, like Arafat, committed himself to destroying the Jewish State, not because it offered Arabs less opportunity that the Ottomans or British but because of pure anti-Semitic racism incorporated in Muslim culture following the WW II Nazi Holocaust.
Biden’s call for ceasefire was cleverly couched in conditions to placate Muslim-friendly groups that pressure the White House for a ceasefire. Led by Rep. Rashid Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian in Congress, pressure Biden to stop Netanyahu’s War against Hamas, promoting the fake stats showing massive civilian losses in the eight-month old war. Hamas offers no assurance at all that it will stop its war of annihilation against the Jewish State, only that it wishes to retain power in Gaza. White House officials know there is no future with a terror group controlling the Gaza Strip. Whether admitted to or not, Hamas won’t leave until Netanyahu delivers his promise to end Hamas rule. Letting a billionaire criminal like Haniyeh negotiate in Cairo for Hamas tells the whole story of what Israel and the U.S. deal with in negotiating with terrorists.
When it comes to Israel’s war in Gaza, there are no shortcuts, only the hard work of dismantling the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah and eventually driving out Oct. 7, 2023 mastermind Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif. Hiding in Gaza’s catacomb of military tunnels tells the whole story of how Hamas hangs on to survive. Sinwar likes talking about destroying Israel but he’s stolen Gaza’s donor wealth and destroyed Gaza. No donor state is willing any longer to fund Hamas after watching Haniyeh, Meshaal and Marzouk become billionaires, leaving Gaza citizens without adequate food, water and electricity. Only Sinwar, Deif and others in the junta live in Gaza’s underground military tunnels, designed to survive an Israeli war. When Sinwar decided to resort to Nazi-like Holocaust practices, Netanyahu said “Never Again,” declaring war on Hamas.
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.
