Sinwar Wins!

That’s it, folks.  The war is over.  After saying for 47 days that the war will only end with the complete destruction of Hamas and its ability to wage war, our spineless government agreed to a ceasefire.

It’s called a “four-day pause” in return for about 50 hostages held in Gaza.  But the small print says that 10 more hostages will be returned for each additional one-day pause. The government will not say, “No, we’re stopping here!”  At that time, Hamas will be holding around 180 more people. That’s another 18 days. Added to the initial four, that’s a 22-day pause.  In other words, a ceasefire. Those who think that the fighting will be resumed after 22 days are delusional.

Hamas and its fighters are getting out of this crippled but still alive. Like germs which multiply if you stop taking antibiotics too early, the terrorists will grow in numbers and strength to kill again.

On top of this, at least 150 convicted terrorists are being freed from our jails. All the supplies that our leaders have pledged to stop are pouring into Gaza once again. Hamas will engage in the cruelest psychological manipulations to delay release of the hostages and to use the Israeli public’s emotion to their favor.

I don’t blame the families of the kidnapped. If my relative was being held captive, I would do the same things they are doing. Their public campaign is impressive, being directed by the PR agencies that handled the outcry to free Gilad Schalit, and financed by some of the funds and foundations behind the anti-legal reform demonstrations.

I wish I had an agora for every hundred shekels spent on the full-color personalized shirts, hats, posters, giant banners on every street corner and bus station, media advertisements, marches, concerts, press conferences, sound systems, cameras, producers, directors, actors.  Did I leave out anything?

There are even Saturday night demonstrations in Tel Aviv with the same ready-made crowd that has been there every Saturday night for years.  They simply changed their slogan from “Crime Minister” (without flags) to “Save Democracy” (with flags) to “Bring Them Home Now!” (again without flags).

Nevertheless, the families have every right to do all this. The public campaign touches everybody: Good people in Israel and around the world. If the pressure to release one soldier, Gilad Schalit, proved irresistible, how could anyone stand up to the tidal wave of 240 hostages.

But that’s where true leadership comes in. The ability to resist that pressure – pressure from the streets, the families, the celebrities, the media stars, the Americans, the Europeans – and say “No!” to a cease fire, “No!” to freeing convicted terrorists, “No!” to allowing in supplies.

In short, staying true to what every Israeli politician was saying on October 8.  Staying true to the 70 soldiers who have been killed in Gaza and whose last wish was that the fighting continue until Hamas and Hamasism are wiped out. Every one of those soldiers has a family who will never see him again, but all we hear about is how the families of the hostages are suffering.

So our captives will come home and this round, like all the previous indecisive ones, will be over. Hamas will rebuild and rearm for the next round. Get ready. You ain’t seen nothing yet, folks