After two long years Hamas has finally freed the last twenty live hostages left in the dungeons of Gaza. With the captives being redeemed and an Israeli-Hamas cease fire in place, there is much to celebrate. Nevertheless, we should not lose sight of the very difficult tasks ahead. (See: https://shulmaven.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-israel-hamas-war-is-peace-at-hand.html )
As I write this Hamas
gunmen are slaughtering their local Palestinian opponents. This has to stop and
if Gaza is to be rebuilt by the proposed middle eastern consortium, Hamas will
have to be disarmed. That will not be easy and what Arab state will allow their
soldiers to be killed in a Gaza peace keeping mission?
In order for this to work is for the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye have to put constant pressure on both Hamas and Israel to maintain the momentum of today. There are few hopeful signs. It appears that there is a new openness to expanding the Abraham Accords and that Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population, is prepared to commit troops. President Trump and his team have created the framework for a new beginning in the middle east; let us hope they will have the patience to follow through in the days to come.
Donald Trump is brilliant. He has turned this into a huge real estate deal. He understands that the gulf states, many of which have built beautiful new cities and have huge oil reserves, have a lot to lose by going to war with Israel, especially if Israel has the unconditional support of the USA. Gaza and the USA bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities and the Houthi’s, and USA troops on the ground in the area, has shown the gulf states what they can lose almost immediately if the go to war with Israel. Better for them to make peace with Israel and enjoy the economic benefits of being a friend to the USA.
ReplyDeleteBig money rules!