Though Israel issues more war threats, Hamas is eager to save the Gaza deal. Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou says the group is “eager” to prevent the collapse of the ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip and to “oblige” Israel to fully implement it.
According to Aljazeera online, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz again threatened to resume war on Gaza, jeopardizing the release of three Israeli captives scheduled for Saturday.
This refers to a recent report in the Guardian saying, ‘Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would resume fighting in Gaza if Hamas did not release more hostages by noon on Saturday, endorsing a threat by Donald Trump that could shatter the three-week-old ceasefire between the two sides.
It came a day after Trump told reporters: “If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12pm, I would say cancel the ceasefire. Let all hell break loose.”
Personally, I find it pathetic that Hamas would hold onto hostages. Clearly, they do it to gain public outrage from wannabee sympathy seekers who condemn Israel as the thug. The truth is another story when it all goes back to 7th October, 2023.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza Envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The attacks, which coincided with the Jewish religious holiday Simchat Torah, initiated the ongoing Gaza war. (source Wikipedia)
Hamas took around 251 hostages on that day and until today there are still many of these held captive. What is holding them back from releasing the hostages? On January 14th according to one report 90 hostages remain including some 34 dead. A week ago, on writing this blog 13th February some 76 hostages are still being held of which 42 are still believed to be alive according to The Telegraph online.
Don’t forget Israel is dealing with barbaric Palestinian groups such as Hamas who will stop at nothing from persecuting Jewish settlers, destroying Israel, and obliterating Jewish people from the land.
The plausible outcome might be to dislodge Palestinians entirely, so the region can become peaceful after over 100 years of Arab militia gone. Yes, what happened in Gaza is very sad for law abiding civilians.
The real issue is having Hamas elected by the blinded people considering they use its people as human shields, use them for social media stories to draw sympathy, and of course its 7th October, 2023 terrorist attack on law abiding Israelis, as well as foreigners visiting the region. Not returning the hostages only adds to the dilemma.
Donald Trump has shocked the world by suggesting that the US could "take over" and "own" Gaza, resettling its population in the process.
The proposal could mark the biggest shift in US policy on the Middle East in decades and upend the international consensus on a Palestinian state comprising Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Trump has suggested that under his plan, Gaza would be handed over to the US by Israel and its residents encouraged to move elsewhere with no right of return.
The proposal has drawn condemnation, including from across the Middle East, close US allies and the United Nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, welcomed the "revolutionary vision" for Gaza.
If the general population were more aware of what has been going on for such a long time in the region, then perhaps they would encourage such a move to avoid more bloodshed. Afterall, surrounding Arab nations are quick to provide reasoning for Palestinian militia groups and intifadas carried out over the years.
In such a case, wouldn’t it make more sense to give Palestinians a real home that they could call their own with access in and out, and a protecting sovereignty whereby no further bloodshed could be inflicted upon them.
Don’t forget that because of the undesirably trouble makers from Palestine, the vast majority have their lives disrupted, war waged on them, and an unforgiving Israel that has suffered enough from such turmoil.
Take care!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Plausible (adj) = reasonable, believable, credible, probable, conceivable, likely, possible, acceptable, (ant) implausible
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