Gaza Dead End: Better Living Standards Only Long-Term Solution

Getting hostages back safely can be an achievable goal when dealing with a civilized adversary. The thing is, civilized people don’t forcibly kidnap people, hold them hostage and then murder them.

Trying to have them released alive from an adversary such as Hamas is more a wish than achievable goal.

It’s hard to say this, but after nearly a year of a bloody poorly planned and catastrophic war waged by Israel against Hamas, it must not end in a draw. A draw where the terrorist army simply resets its pre October 7th presence in Gaza as its governing body, it troops replenished by hundred of released terrorist prisoners and with no Israeli troops stationed in the strip.

Compounding this tragic dead end situation is the likelihood more and more of the remaining hostages will be killed by Hamas as a way of pressuring Israel to end the war.

This won’t happen if Bibi Netanyahu wants to remain in power and out of a possible jail cell. His ultra frum coalition will topple him if he calls for a Hamas friendly ceasefire.

According to a member of his own Likud Party, Bibi will do anything to stay in power.

Why won’t Hamas end the war? Why should it? It has much of the leftist world on its side. How many marchers have you seen carrying ‘Hamas End the War’ placards? Much of the world blames Israel for prosecuting a war that had caused thousands of civilian deaths.

On top of this, many Hamas troops look forward to being martyred by an Israeli bullet or bomb. They have no incentive to stop fighting or free the remaining hostages.

As the war nears the one year mark, a few shocking and sickening things have been revealed:

• Israel’s highly touted security services had no knowledge of the extensive Hamas tunnel network.
• Credible warnings of the October 7th attack were ignored by Netanyahu.
• More than 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 hostages were kidnapped in broad daylight.
• The IDF had no effective battle plan to sweep Gaza and find the hostages.
• Israel, founded as a liberal democracy, has been taken over by an extreme right-wing coalition allowing Netanyahu to act as a virtual dictator.
• His goal of eliminating Hamas is almost an impossible task, yet amazingly helps keep him in power.

So what are the choices?

• Realistically Israel declares victory, stations troops in Gaza to continue the hostage and Hamas hunt at a much lower intensity…or
• Israel works out a peace deal with Hamas. The war stops. The living hostages are freed, as are hundreds of Hamas prisoners. Hamas re-establishes itself in Gaza, making the war pointless…or
• Israel works out a peace deal with Hamas. The war stops. The living hostages are freed, as are hundreds of Hamas prisoners. A short time later Israel reneges on the peace deal, reoccupies Gaza and re-starts the war against Hamas.

Whether or not Netanyahu remains in power should have no bearing on the treatment of Hamas as psychopathic terrorist group banned from Gaza and the civilized world. It can’t be given a free pass back in to the enclave in any long-term peace deal.

And speaking of peace, which there will never really be as long as most Palestinian Arabs remain poorly educated down market people who look to groups such as Hamas as their champions.

Just the opposite is the case with Israeli Arabs who live in peace with Jews, enjoying a better living standard and educational opportunities than found in most Arab nations.

It can only be the Israel’s long-term advantage, once the shooting stops, to directly help Palestinians achieve similar living standards as Israeli Arabs.

People with a lot to lose, shy away from needless wars and terrorists.