LOS ANGELES.–Just when 81-year-old President Joe Biden thought he could push of a ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas leadership elevated 61-year-old Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar to lead the Islamic terror group. Sinwar comes from the long line of Hamas leaders dedicated to destroying Israel, not the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority that inherited Yasser Arafat’s 1964 Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] of making peace with Israel. Elevating Sinwar after Hamas leader in exile Ismail Haniyeh’s July 31 assassination, Hamas serves notice that there’s no prospect left for a ceasefire unless Israel abandons its war and leaves Hamas in power to control the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to tell Biden that Israel must finish the job in Gaza, removing Hamas from power. Without ending Hamas rule, there can be no peace in Gaza.
Sinwar planned the Oct. 7, 2023 Holocaust-style atrocity for over a year, all to prove that Hamas has relevance in its mission to push Israel into the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas military breached the Gaza border, massacred 1,200 Israelis, mainly teenagers attending the Nova Music Festival and neighboring Kibbutzes near the Gaza border and seizing over 250 hostages, most of whom dead after nearly 10 months of captivity. Pushing Sinwar to take over for Haniyeh throws cold water on any of Biden’s plans for ceasefire. Since ending his bid for a second term July 21, Biden’s handlers have been obsessed with his legacy, hoping to bring peace to Gaza and reform the conservative Supreme Court. Biden’s legacy plans are all up-in-the-air, especially when it comes to ending the Gaza war. Sinwar is literally the last one standing in Gaza’s labyrinth of military tunnels.
Sinwar has nowhere to go other than hide out as long as possible before he’s tracked down by Israeli Defense Forces [IDF]. Biden can only sit back and watch the IDF operation to purge the Gaza Strip of remaining Hamas militants including locating and neutralizing Sinwar. “There is only one place for Yahya Sinwar and it is beside Mohammed Deif and the rest of Oct. 7 terrorists. That is the only place we’re preparing and intending for him,” said IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. Biden and his national security team thought they could pressure Israel into a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, saying Israel hurts its standing in the internal community. Netanyahu knows that Israel is never popular with the U.N. that holds its sympathies for Palestinians, including Hamas terrorists. With appointing Sinwar head Hamas, U.S. officials know that ceasefire efforts are dead.
Qatari and Egyptian officials the hosted ceasefire talks in Cairo know the Sinwar’s appointment to head Hamas ends any meaningful attempts at a ceasefire. Hamas said it’s still willing to negotiate a ceasefire agreement as long as it included allowing Hamas to retain power in Gaza. Hamas has always wanted guarantees that it could retain power in Gaza before agreeing to any ceasefire deal. Hamas knows that it’s not calling the shots in Gaza, with the IDF ending Hamas rule or all intents-and-purposes. “The problem in negotiations is not the change in Hamas,” said Hamas Spokesman Osama Hamadan, blaming the U.S. and Israel for not making a deal. Hamas “remains steadfast in the battlefield and in politics . . . The person leading today is the one who led the fighting for more that 305 days and is still steadfast in the field,” Hamdan said, referring to Sinwar refusing to give up.
Hamas knows that its days are numbered regardless of all its defiance. If Sinwar lives to see another day, it’s all about accepting an asylum deal in some unknown Muslim country. When you think of all the exiled Hamas leaders, like the late 62-year-old Ismail Haniyeh, 68-year-old Khaled Meshaal and 72-year-old Abu Marzouk, they all had one thing in common. They became billionaires looting the Gaza Strip coffers for the last 17 years, when Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority. Sinwar has led the Gaza Strip since 2017,10 years after Hamas seized Gaza in a bloodless coup. Sinwar knows his only way out now is to accept an exile deal with the IDF breathing down his neck. Sinwar lost his No. 1 comrade in arms Mohammed Deif Aug. 1 to an Israeli missile strike, knowing he has little protection left in Gaza tunnels.
Biden and Harris’s plans for a Gaza ceasefire have vanished with Sinwar appointed the leader of Hamas. Harris, now the Democrat Party presumptive nominee, can no longer advocate for Hamas, knowing the consequences on her campaign for president. With leftist, pro-Palestinian Squad member Cory Bush (D-Mis.) losing her primary, the walls are closing in on pro-Palestinian Democrats. If Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) loses her primary next week, it would signal an end to coherent Democrat Party opposition to Israel. Most mainstream politicians know that pro-Palestine advocacy is no longer tolerated in the Democrat Party. Watching Hamas get behind Sinwar leaves no excuses for the Biden-Harris White House to push for a urgent ceasefire to save Palestinian civilians. Sinwar proves Hamas are hardcore terrorists, not a legitimate political movement.
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.
