This Week in Israel

This Week in Israel

First came JD Vance and then came Rubio. There were visits from President Trumps’ son-in-law and his entourage. And there were also the wives.

Beautiful, elegant Usha arrived with JD and visited with Sarah Netanyahu. Israelis cannot be expected to know of Usha’s brilliance as she, like her husband, understands her role. Hers requires staying in the background.

I am imagining that Usha gets along well with Melania Trump who is also elegant and smart and unobtrusive.

There were meetings and lunches that the wives also attended and there were meetings for Vance and for Rubio. But by the time Rubio arrived, Israeli television had gone back to regular programing. Israeli media are still providing updates about Rubio’s meetings. But by now it seems that Israelis are not focused on the Americans, at least not in the way that we were a few days ago.

However, President Trump likes things orderly, that is, in the order that he chooses. And, so far, the visit of the Americans seems to be going well. Yet, as much as President Trump wants the war to stop, and as much as Israelis want to live in peace, HAMAS will keep the war going as long as they possibly can. For HAMAS there are no incentives that will entice them to stop.

This presents a very difficult reality for Americans and especially for the US president. How is it in the best interest of Hamas to keep the war going? Much of their area has been destroyed and needs to be rebuilt. It is hard to understand; it seems illogical. But HAMAS is not particularly interested in rebuilding.

Their current focus is on attacking “collaborators,” that is, anyone suspected of not supporting HAMAS.

And the most difficult thing for Americans to accept–especially difficult for President Trump the deal maker–is that HAMAS really does not care about its own people. HAMAS is focused on killing anyone who is not clearly in their camp, even if it means jeopardizing their own families.

Israelis know we are going back to war.