| U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, during his trip to Israel and the region last week, asserted that the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks is “maybe the last opportunity to get the hostages home.” Blinken’s dubious prediction reflects how desperate the Biden-Harris Administration is to get a ceasefire done before the November elections. It also implies that a ceasefire deal is dependent on Israel, not the aggressor Hamas.
But Biden and company are wasting their time. Hamas will not give up its religious jihad to destroy the Jewish state, and Israel will not compromise its fight to ensure the safety of its people.
The Biden-Harris Administration, however, continues to ignore the futility of ceasefire negotiations, arguing that a ceasefire is required to save Palestinian lives and free the hostages, most of whom are now presumed dead. Note that last week Israel extracted six more hostages—all murdered—from Gaza tunnels, without a ceasefire.
Indications are that Team Biden-Harris demands a Gaza ceasefire because they believe it will help keep their party in the White House. Indeed, Democrat leaders face relentless pressure from far-left voters—many of whom recently stormed the Democratic National Convention, threatening to withhold their votes if the U.S. doesn’t withhold arms from Israel. The White House believes that if they can allow Hamas to survive, they will placate the ultra-left and achieve victory in November.
If Biden and Harris truly want to save Palestinian lives and free the hostages—not to mention protect America’s interests in the Middle East against the growing Iranian threat—they will extend to Israel the “ironclad” support they’ve piously promised . . . or, at least stand aside, allowing Israel to do its job.
Hamas’s commitment to kill Jews and expel the Jewish state is implacable, making a ceasefire meaningless. Hamas views the conflict with Israel as a religious imperative, a conflict between Muslims and Jews, in which Palestine is sacred Islamic land that cannot be surrendered to non-Muslims.
As the Hamas charter says, “Israel . . . will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it.” It continues, “There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad.” Furthermore, “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them.”
While Hamas demands no less than the genocide of the Jewish people and their state, radical leftists actually accuse Israel of genocide and of refusing to accept a ceasefire. Yet if Gaza is facing genocide, why would Hamas reject ceasefire proposals time and again? Efforts to force Israel to abandon its existential fight only supports Hamas’s long-term goal of more dead Jews and more Palestinian martyrs.
Israel cannot give up its strategic goal of defeating Hamas. If Hamas survives, Hamas wins. Moreover, Hamas has proven that if they have the strength, they will continue attacking Israel. In short, Israel is battling for survival: Its people will never be safe until Hamas is removed from power in Gaza.
Unfortunately, Israel’s mission to destroy Hamas is far from finished. As IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror explains, “Israel’s achievements in Gaza are impressive, but they’re far from what should be achieved. If Israel evacuates its forces now, within a year, Hamas will be strong again.” He emphasized that stopping the war now would be a “disaster” for Israel.
Media falsely blame Israel, instead of Hamas for failed ceasefire negotiations. Last week, the Associated Press claimed “Israel’s demand for lasting control over two strategic corridors in Gaza, which Hamas has long rejected, threatens to unravel ceasefire talks.” Apparently, AP believes Israel is solely responsible and should pay any price—including suicide—in order to end the war that Hamas started.
Israel cannot withdraw from the Philadelphi or Netzarim corridors because Hamas will again use the former to smuggle weapons into Gaza, while the IDF considers the latter vital for preventing the return of terrorists to northern Gaza and for securing the transport of aid.
What’s more, Hamas refuses to promise a specific number of hostages that will be returned, nor will they specify how many would be dead or alive. In return, Hamas demands the release of many hardcore terrorists, who will likely return to terrorism if released. Indeed, Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7th massacre, was released as part of the deal to free IDF soldier Gilad Shalit in 2011. Israel cannot allow the resurgence of its murderous enemy.
Biden’s demand for a ceasefire hides his real motives and ignores U.S. strategic interests. Biden and Harris claim a ceasefire is necessary to save Palestinian lives and free hostages. But if that were their goal, they would call for Hamas’s unconditional surrender, or at least not impede Israel from destroying the terrorist group. Instead, the Biden-Harris White House has withheld weapons shipments to Israel and continuously condemned the Jewish state for civilian deaths that are squarely Hamas’s responsibility.
Above all, Biden doesn’t realize, or perhaps he doesn’t care, that destroying Hamas would severely damage Iran and send a message to the mullahs that the U.S. will not allow the Islamic Republic and its proxy terrorist militias to attack America’s interests, such as U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, which have recently been struck by Iranian proxies.
It seems the real reason Biden wants a ceasefire is because he thinks it will keep Democrats in the White House by winning over far-left voters. Hamas supporters in Chicago carried signs saying “Genocide Joe” and “Killer Kamala.” They demand a halt to the war and an arms embargo on Israel. Team Biden-Harris fears that without these votes, they could lose the election.
Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that the Biden Administration’s desperate quest for a Gaza ceasefire is not only futile. It contradicts America’s interests. Put simply, allowing Israel to destroy Hamas weakens Iran and strengthens the U.S. by deterring the Islamic Republic from attacking American assets and troops in the Middle East.
On the other hand, imposing a ceasefire on Israel before it destroys Hamas does the opposite. It emboldens Iran and encourages its tyrannical, Islamist regime to keep pursuing, not only the destruction of Israel, but total domination of the Middle East.
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Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
P.S. The riots, vandalism and illegal trespassing on American college campuses have sharpened the knives of the Israel haters. It’s become clear that the “pro-Palestinian” protesters are purely anti-Israel and support the genocide of Jews “between the river and the sea.” Scandalously, we’ve also seen hard evidence that university administrators are willing to ignore or openly support the antisemitic hate speech and harassment of Jewish students—though they would never permit such behavior against other minorities. I hope you’ll agree that we supporters of Jewish students and hate-free campuses need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Stop Terrorism on Campus”—calls for four actions to eliminate campus outlaws and to restore rights to all students. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME recently published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Denver Post and Mercury News. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, Vice President Harris and President Biden. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.
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