Author's Update: Early this morning, October 13th, Hamas started to release
the 20 living hostages with the first seven released at around 1am EST with the
others soon thereafter.
Let
me start by saying that I herald President Donald J.Trump, Secretary
of State Marco Rubio, and all others true friends of the Jewish State
of Israel who had a hand in brokering this what has now turned into a
“phased-in”
peace deal. And I herald Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for this one man tried to save a
nation against what seemed to be, at times, insurmountable odds
including opposition from certain segments of the Israeli people, with
some hostage families sadly included. And while it pains me to say this, the fact does remain that sometimes one must unite behind their country's leader no matter the personal circumstances involved, and understand that sometimes the horrors of war alone dictates that some of the few might have to be sacrificed in order to save the many.
And
also know I firmly believe that Israel has no better friend than our
great President Trump who worked tirelessly to bring an end to the
Israel v. Hamas war...a war started solely by Hamas...a war whose end
no matter signatures placed on a piece of paper still do not assure
that a lasting peace will take hold...a war that if not for Barack
Obama's and Joe Biden's terrorist appeasement and deals done while
they were in office, is a war that might never have happened in the
first place.
Simply,
while agreeing on a “ceasefire”
and a few other points, Hamas has yet to formally surrender. And
while some try to claim that in their agreeing to some things Hamas,
in a way, is surrendering while at the same time “saving
face,” but that is
actually not the case. Why so...because when an enemy officially
surrenders to the victor...which is the true first touch point to
peace...it transfers control of its combatants, territory, and
armaments to the now victor...think World War II here. And only after
actual peace treaties are signed...as in the “Paris Peace Treaty of
1947” regarding the European theater of war, and the “Treaty
of Peace with Japan” signed in 1951 regarding the Pacific
theater of war...is lasting peace between former enemies
assured.
Now
as for the hostages themselves...specifically the remaining hostages
soon to be released along with the remains of those starved and
tortured who died while in captivity...Hamas has told the hostage
negotiators that they may not immediately or ever be able to locate
some of those persons remains. In fact, Gal Hirsch, senior Israeli
official in charge of hostages, has stated that in the coming days an
“international team”
will be formed to try to
locate and recover the bodies (or more likely the body parts) of any
Israeli hostages still unaccounted for. And to that might I add that
if the Israel-hating U.N. is involved in any way in said search team,
you just know it will not turn out well for the hostage's families
still awaiting the return of their lost loved ones remains.
Why
so...because like with Hitler's Nazi Germany, degrading the physical
being of the person themselves is part of the calling card of Hamas
as well as other Jew-hating groups like them. And said hatred is
ingrained so deep within their very being that said hatred will
continue on, in one form or another, probably for generations to
come. No simple “ceasefire
deal”...no what is
erroneously being heralded as a “peace
deal”...will ever be
Hamas' “come to Jesus”
moment if you will. Nor will it
soften the hearts and minds of the almost two thousand Palestinian
prisoners and detainees (security prisoners they're being called) being exchanged for the now believed to be but 20 still alive
hostages...with many of those exchanged being Hamas sympathizers,
convicted terrorists, October 7th operatives, and other assorted
Palestinians detained since the start of the war.
However,
and thankfully, this prisoner exchange does not include notable
terrorists Marwan Barghouti, Ahmad Sa’adat, Hassan Salameh or Abbas
al-Sayed, the very four persons whose releases Hamas had desperately sought.
But
what should not be forgotten in this discourse, whether it be the
peace deal itself or even just its implementation, is the fact that those with
a still 6th century mindset cannot seem to exist...or even want to
exist...in what is a 21st century world.
Why
so...because lasting peace, let alone acceptance of one another's differences cannot be obtained by those whose 6th century mindset is
still that of what it was when they were captured...simply stated,
“leopards cannot change
their spots” as the
old and ever truthful saying goes.
But
now, and again as I write this, we await what should be Monday's
agreed upon date for the hostage and prisoner exchanges; Israeli's
partial IDF withdrawal from Gaza; the increasing of humanitarian aid
into Gaza; and President Trump's trip to both Israel and Egypt where
he on Netanyahu's invitation will address the Israeli Knesset and
then go to Egypt to be present for the said hostage and prisoner
exchange. And here know that while President Trump was foolishly denied the Nobel Peace Prize, the world certainly knows that
without Trump's tireless efforts, this what is in actuality a
“ceasefire/phased deal” would not and could not have been
reached.
And
to that being said I add that the U.S. is currently in the process of
deploying up to 200 troops to Israel to help support and
monitor both the “ceasefire deal” and Hamas' at least
stating to disarm after Netanyahu
rightfully declared that, “Hamas
will be disarmed in the upcoming stages of the agreement—either the
easy way or the hard way,”
Simply,
threats and a show of physical strength do work especially when
justified, for in this case Hamas still cannot be and probably never
will be trusted to abide in full to any deals made. Why so...first
because no matter how it appears on the surface Iran still pulls
Hamas' strings, and second because as tens of thousands of
Palestinians have begun returning to what is left of northern Gaza,
numerous media and eye witness verified accounts and reports
confirm that among the returning are some Hamas police officials who
are trying to “reassert their authority,' something
that
must never be allowed to happen.
Also, certain remaining
factions of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) are still saying that they
reject “any foreign guardianship” of the Gaza Strip, while
a number of Gaza officials continue calling for an independent,
international investigation into what they consider to be war
crimes and genocide committed by Israel during its war with Hamas.
And something not to be forgotten, especially now, is that the “United
Nations Relief and Works Agency” (UNRWA) has called for
all crossings into Gaza to be opened, saying that there are 6,000 aid
trucks ready to reach Gaza in hours...that is if one believes anything
the UN has to say...that is unless the remaining Hamas operatives don't
“appropriate,” if you will, the aid for themselves as they
have done so over the years.
But
instead of worrying about what the UN or any of their organizations
think, what needs to be worried about is the fact that Palestinian
sources in Israel have reported what they call “growing security
chaos” in the Gaza Strip, with Hamas gunmen... obviously Hamas
has not yet and probably never will surrender their weapons... now
clashing with local “clans” in both Gaza's Beit Lahia and
Sabra neighborhoods, with the son of a Hamas official reportedly
being killed in said clash. Bet it's only a matter of time before
Israel will somehow be blamed for that.
“To
all the Hamas rats, your tunnels are destroyed, your rights no longer
exist. Repent before it’s too late — there is no Hamas from today
onward.” So said one Hussam al-Astal, commander of an armed group now
opposed to Hamas in Khan Yunus in southern Gaza.
And
while it is a hopeful sign that there are Palestinians who are
now rising up against Hamas, and with a growing number of
Palestinians simply tired of a war they know that they cannot
physically win, the fact remains that unless true peace comes to the
region more blood will most certainly continue to be shed, and it
won't be by Israel's hand, but by the Palestinians people themselves.
So
now as the Trump brokered, Netanyahu backed “ceasefire”...replete
with hoped for future steps soon be taken...starts to take hold
and slowly inches its way towards its ultimate goal of peace
and stability in the Middle East, remember all players involved are
not truly on the same page. For example, Qatar, the country
who gave safe harbor to cowardly Hamas leadership who hightailed it
out of Gaza when the going got tough...nor will true peace itself
ever be attained as long as fundamental
issues and differences remain unresolved between Israel and Hamas.
And
here let me say that what really is needed, in my opinion, is for an
actual long-term
political based framework to be brokered solely by the two main
parties involved...as in Israel and Hamas...to help in trying to
resolve what are their still ongoing deep-seated differences no
matter the “ceasefire”
now in place, for unless they do so one-to-one the risk for potential
future conflicts most assuredly still exists. Remember,
as I previously stated, it's treaties that actually bring finality
to a given war with everything else being but window dressing to some
degree that helps to hide important truths that do need to be told.
Peace through strength is what ends wars, peace through forced
capitulation only sweeps one side's bloodlust temporarily under the
proverbial rug. Case closed.
Copyright © 2025 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved.
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For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article The Old Status Quo vs. The New Doctrine.
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