Israel-Hamas Thread II

[Benaiah468]

No sooner has the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas begun than it becomes clear that Gaza's future is anything but certain. In a joint statement with Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Hamas has categorically rejected any foreign supervision or guardianship over the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with Sky News, Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said that his organization would no longer be directly involved in the administration of Gaza after the implementation of the agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump. However, disarmament was out of the question. No one could take away their right to resistance by all means, including armed resistance, Naim declared.

The statement openly contradicts the expectations of Western and Arab mediators that Hamas should dismantle its military structures in the post-war order.

When asked about reports of a possible role for former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in a transitional administration, Naim responded:

"unfortunately, we Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims and maybe others around the world have bad memories of him."

Hamas thus indirectly rejects the concept of an international transitional administration currently being discussed in Washington, Cairo, and Brussels. This model envisages limited security oversight by Arab and Western forces until a new local leadership is established.

In a further statement on its official Telegram channel, Hamas reaffirmed its determination to ‘continue the resistance’ until ‘self-determination and the establishment of an independent, sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital’ are achieved.

The organisation is thus signalling that, while it tactically supports the peace plan initiated by President Trump, it is not strategically prepared to renounce violence or its fundamental ideological positions.

While the Israeli army has moved its troops to the agreed withdrawal lines in Gaza and the release of the hostages is underway, it is becoming apparent that the ‘post-war period’ will by no means be stable.

 

[Benaiah468]

In everything that follows, Israel must not lose sight of what matters most: protecting its citizens.

The most sensitive questions are immediately practical: Who will take over security in the areas that Israel vacates? Who will disarm the numerous militias? Who will guarantee that humanitarian aid actually reaches the civilian population and does not fall into the hands of terrorist organisations?

The plan provides for an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to gradually move into the areas vacated by Israel. However, the composition of this force is already controversial. Egypt has declared that it will not provide troops; other countries under discussion, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, have signalled their willingness to participate, but without making any binding commitments. Indonesia will probably only play a limited role. Individual European countries have reported their willingness to provide logistical or police support, but there is still no actual core group.

For Israel, the crucial question is: who bears responsibility on the ground? Only a credible force capable of acting quickly can prevent weapons stockpiles and networks from being rebuilt. The very idea of a multinational presence without a clear leadership structure carries the risk of a power vacuum and local fragmentation.

The central security question is both simple and brutal: who will disarm Hamas and its numerous allied and rival militias? On paper, the answer is to dismantle the military capabilities of these organisations. In practice, however, there are armed networks in Gaza that are partly locally based and partly transnationally linked. Demilitarisation will only succeed if it is reliably monitored, controlled and, if necessary, enforceable.

In this regard, Israel is not prepared to give up its security guarantees. The country will not leave disarmament to a merely symbolic process. If international forces do not act quickly and effectively, Israel will respond, politicians have made that clear.

Israel has the right and the duty to protect its security. Israel must not be passive in this regard. Security is not just a military matter: it is the prerequisite for everything that comes after it.

 

[Desk trauma]

Not silly at all.

Completely silly.

 

[Benaiah468]

Completely silly.

What exactly is completely silly? G-d's promises?

 

[Desk trauma]

What exactly is completely silly?

Using indifferent natural processes that will continue regardless as proof that something unrelated to them will happen.

 

[Benaiah468]

Using indifferent natural processes that will continue regardless as proof that something unrelated to them will happen.

Look, the mere fact that you are engaging with the subject of Israel shows that it cannot be as silly as you think. And as long as the sun shines, nothing will change, because it is based on G-d's promises to Israel. He Himself compares His covenant to the fixed order of day and night, as certain as day and night alternate, so certain is His covenant.

 

[Desk trauma]

Look, the mere fact that you are engaging with the subject of Israel shows that it cannot be as silly as you think.

No, it remains just as silly.

 

[Benaiah468]

No, it remains just as silly.

Israel is the nation that was created by G-d to be a witness for Him.

 

[Desk trauma]

Israel is the nation that was created by G-d to be a witness for Him.

Throwing more claims on n top does not reduce the silliness.

 

[Benaiah468]

Throwing more claims on n top does not reduce the silliness.

The concept of Israel being a divine witness is a theological one, not a statement of silly fact.

 

[Desk trauma]

The concept of Israel being a divine witness is a theological one, not a statement of silly fact.

Just compounding silliness.

 

[Benaiah468]

The ceasefire deal should finally bring all hostages home.

A document published by Al Jazeera describes the exact steps for implementing Trump's plan. According to the document, Hamas is obliged to release all living hostages, together with the remains of those killed in captivity, as far as possible is to be completed by 6 a.m. tomorrow.

The handover will take place exclusively through the International Red Cross, which will hand over the hostages to the Israeli authorities.
An Egyptian delegation, accompanied by the Red Cross, is to visit the Israeli prisons of Ofer and Ktzi'ot to confirm the identity of the released Palestinian prisoners.

A joint coordination centre for the implementation of the agreement is to centralise all contacts between Israel and Hamas via mediators and international organisations in order to avoid misunderstandings and incidents.

The document also describes the initial phases of a coordinated reconstruction plan under international supervision:

Free transport of relief supplies via the main roads of as-Saladin and al-Rashid, from north to south.
Restarting of Gaza's central power station through a coordinated fuel delivery system.
Reconstruction of water and sewage systems, hospitals, bakeries and main roads.
Expansion of existing refugee camps to accommodate internally displaced persons from destroyed neighbourhoods.

These measures are to begin ‘immediately after signing’ and are part of the second phase of the Trump agreement, which envisages a ‘stable, demilitarised administration’ under "Palestinian" ownership in the long term.

 

[Benaiah468]

Spanish activist Reyes Rigo, who was arrested last week during the interception of the Global Sumud flotilla, faces charges of assault. The activist says she was only defending herself. According to the prosecution's document, Rigo refused to voluntarily enter her cell in Ketziot Prison and bit a female security guard on the hand during a scuffle with security personnel, injuring her. Israeli authorities have described the incident as an attack on a public servant and have requested that she be held in custody until the conclusion of the court proceedings.

Madeleine Habib, captain of the ship Conscience, part of a pro-"Palestinian" aid flotilla, is being held by Israel ‘indefinitely’ unless she signs a waiver. Officials had agreed with the Israeli immigration authorities that all detainees who refused to sign the waiver would remain in Israel indefinitely. They pointed out that this was a departure from previous practice, whereby detainees were deported after 72 hours regardless of whether they had signed a waiver. Habib said she suspected there might be bedbugs in her cell, but told the officers that she had experienced worse sleeping conditions in hostels and on boats.

 

[Benaiah468]

A document published by Al Jazeera describes the exact steps for implementing Trump's plan. According to the document, Hamas is obliged to release all living hostages, together with the remains of those killed in captivity, as far as possible is to be completed by 6 a.m. tomorrow.

"Israel's greatest challenge after the return of the hostages will be the destruction of all Hamas terror tunnels in Gaza"

writes Defense Minister Israel Katz on the X platform.

All remaining underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip, where fighters from the terrorist organization have entrenched themselves, are to be further destroyed. The entrances are usually well hidden and booby-trapped and mines. Often, they are treacherously located in or near schools or mosques. But oly when the tunnels have been destroyed will the terrorist militia be defeated. During the Gaza War, the army has already destroyed numerous tunnels. It is unclear how much of the extensive underground network (approximately 560 to 720 kilometers) still remains.

After an initial withdrawal, now the military still controls 53 percent of the Gaza Strip. A further withdrawal is contingent on Hamas' willingness to lay down its arms.

 

[Benaiah468]

In a speech to the Israeli nation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the implementation of Trump's peace plan for Gaza as ‘one of the greatest achievements of Israel's wars of liberation’.

But it should not be forgotten that none of the changes promised in the new plandemilitarization, collection of weapons, government by a “technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee”, will lead to peace as long as point No. 1 of the Trump plan is not fulfilled, namely Gaza will be a deradicalized, terror-free zone that poses no threat to its neighbors. And that is highly unlikely.

For more than a century, "Palestinian" society in Gaza has been taught that its national goal is not to build a homeland for itself, but to destroy the Jewish homeland: Israel. This is not a fringe group. It is the cultural consensus. This idea is not debated in Gaza; it is the unifying principle of all politics, culture and religion. Every "Palestinian" classroom, every mosque, every media outlet and every public institution reinforces the same message: Israel must disappear, and killing Jews is the means to that end.

This ideology did not begin with Hamas. The terrorist organisation has merely weaponised what "Palestinian" culture has been preaching for generations. From the "Palestinian" Authority to the schools run by the United Nations Relief and UNRWA, children are taught to regard ‘liberation’ as synonymous with annihilation. The identity of the "Palestinians", the essence of their ‘national aspiration,’ is based on this genocidal goal.

Deradicalisation is not a construction project. It cannot be achieved with Western advisers, foreign funding or a new curriculum designed in Brussels. Five generations of hatred cannot be undone with a ten-year reconstruction plan. A genocidal ideology that spans generations cannot be reversed in a few months of reconstruction or a few years of ‘international supervision’.

The world will push ahead with rebuilding the Gaza Strip over the next decade and congratulate itself on “deradicalisation”, while ignoring the fact that in reality there has been none.

That is why Israel cannot afford to return the Gaza Strip before deradicalisation has been proven, rather than merely promised. Anything else would mean repeating the same cycle that led to the events of Oct 7: withdrawal, radicalisation and war.

If the Gaza Strip is ever to be rebuilt, it must first be re-educated. Until this happens, returning control to a "Palestinian" society that remains hostile is not promoting peace. It is national suicide.

 

[Benaiah468]

The ceasefire deal should finally bring all hostages home. In return, however, Israel must also release 250 convicted terrorists... which will ultimately lead to a new breeding ground for hatred and violence by the terrorist organisation.

The very fear I have expressed here are reflected in the statements made by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir during the government meeting in which the agreement with Hamas was approved, where he confronted Kushner and Wittkoff with the shortcomings of their Gaza plan:

“I’m sitting here looking at the list of terrorists being released - murderers of babies, rapists of women,” he said. “With all due respect, the United States would never release people like this. I appreciate your efforts and your support for Israel, but let’s be honest - you would not back a deal of this nature. You speak of economic agreements and peace, but you cannot make peace with Hamas. They want to kill us.”

Witkoff responded with a personal anecdote: “I understand your perspective, but let me share a story. My son died of an overdose. I wanted to kill the person responsible, but when I got to court, I saw his parents - ashamed and pleading for forgiveness. And I forgave them.”

Ben Gvir replied, “Mr. Witkoff, that’s precisely the difference: the people who murdered us on October 7 are not asking for forgiveness. Their families are proud. They glorify murder. They want to kill Jews.”

Kushner added, “But Hamas is globally isolated and deterred.”

Ben Gvir countered, “Would you make peace with Hitler? Hamas is Hitler. They want to kill us. Alongside this joy it is absolutely forbidden to ignore the question of price: the release of thousands of terrorists, including 250 murderers who are expected to be freed from our prisons. This is an unbearable price. These are terrorists whom past experience shows will return to terrorism and to their craft of murdering Jews.”
S.: Israel National News Ben Gvir to US envoys: Would you make a deal with Hitler?

 

[Benaiah468]

A rare admission:

Mousa Abu Marzouk, one of the co-founders of Hamas, completely lost his composure in an interview with the Arab broadcaster Al-Ghad TV in Doha when the presenter asked him whether the massacre on Oct 7 had really served the cause of ‘liberating Palestine’.

Marzouk, who has been living in luxury in Qatar for years, fell silent at first, then blurted out:

‘No reasonable person would believe that Palestine can be liberated with a thousand fighters!’

When the journalist calmly replied that he was only asking the questions that people in Gaza themselves were asking, Marzouk shouted:

‘Those are your questions! Show some respect! I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear you – go to hell!’

Arab commentators see the interview as a turning point. The Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat wrote:

‘Hamas has lost its mask. Its leaders do not fear the enemy, but rather the questions of their own people.’

"Palestinian" politician Adnan al-Damiri put it even more bluntly:

‘If a leader like Marzouk cannot find an answer to the suffering of his own people, then Hamas has not only lost the war, but also its soul.’

A commentator on Sky News Arabia put it this way:

‘Marzouk did more to expose Hamas in five seconds than years of international criticism.’

Jordanian journalist Imran al-Khatib wrote:

‘Marzouq's cry was the sound of a building collapsing. Hamas wanted to change the Middle East – and destroyed itself.’

The moral implosion of this organisation is palpable. The anger of one of its founders is not a sign of power, it is the last reflex of a movement that has long since come to an end.

GO TO HELL'!: Hamas Co-founder Loses Cool
(see from min 2:25 onwards)