Phase One of Eternal MidEast Peace: Is Hamas Preparing to Leave or Digging in for the Long Term?

Hamas is not only dragging its feet on returning deceased hostage bodies to Israel, but it is running a terror campaign in Gaza itself, killing rival gang members and rounding up and eliminating those believed to be Israeli informants.

This not only threatens the hostage turnover aspect of Phase One of the Trump-backed peace plan, but it also threatens the ceasefire aspect of the deal.

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Even President Trump himself is making noises that in turn threaten his own vision of lasting peace in the Middle East, which he has promoted as the eternal solution to 3,000 years of hate and warfare.

“If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday.

Now, read this as you like, but it appears that Trump himself is worried that Hamas is not living up to its part of the bargain. Recall, if you will, that Phase Two of this deal requires Hamas to disarm and give up control in the Gaza Strip – perhaps even enjoy a lifetime of freedom in Qatar.

We’re not even close to Phase Two, and Phase One is already filled with compromise – and with killing in place of a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Trump has turned his attention to Ukraine and an upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin.

My question: How soon before Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli premier, gets sick of all this and sends his forces back in to get rid of Hamas once and for all, which of course is probably impossible.

While all this is going on, where are all those nations and leaders who assembled to announce eternal peace? Are they going to put together the plan and peace forces necessary to get Hamas to leave Gaza, or are they waiting for Trump to do it?

Enough question-wise, let’s see what happens in the coming days and weeks to eternal peace in the Middle East. I am personally not optimistic.