Nearly three months since the Donald Trump administration imposed a ceasefire on Israel and Hamas in Gaza, nothing there has been resolved. Hamas, though seriously weakened by over two years of Israel’s blows, is reimposing its dictatorship over the people of Gaza, murdering or torturing any that get in their way.
The vast majority of Gazans still live in the 47% of the territory Hamas controls. Hamas’ goal is to continue using the Palestinians as “martyrs” as it carries out future massacres against Jews and Israel.
Israel — pressured by Washington not to launch new offensives to dismantle Hamas — maintains control over 53% of Gazan land, making occasional forays against Hamas thugs and continuing to destroy the Tehran-backed groups’ tunnel system.
On Christmas Eve Hamas released, “Our Narrative … Al-Aqsa Flood. Two Years of Steadfastness and the Will for Liberation.”
“Al-Aqsa Flood” is what Hamas named its Oct. 7, 2023, anti-Jewish pogrom, which killed 1,200 Jews and others, including Palestinians who worked with them, and wounding thousands more. Dozens of women were raped, murdered and their bodies mutilated.
In “Our Narrative,” Hamas calls the pogrom “a historic, pivotal stage in the journey of our cause,” while cynically claiming that charges its thugs targeted civilians, raped women and killed children are “lies and fallacies.” Hundreds of eyewitness testimonies and videos of their brutality show otherwise.
This reporter has personally seen videos posted by Hamas on its own internet sites showing its death squads torturing and murdering an immigrant African worker. Another shows them brutally beating an Arab worker from a kibbutz who they later killed.
There are videos from numerous sources — including GoPro cameras used by Hamas to film on Oct. 7 — that show its thugs gunning down unarmed Jewish civilians at the Nova music festival and at the kibbutzim they attacked.
Many of those taken hostage by Hamas have been speaking out about the conditions they faced. Romi Gonen, who spent 471 days captive in Gaza, recently described the multiple sexual assaults she suffered by the Jew-hating thugs.
No less a lie is Hamas’ claim that most Palestinians in Gaza support Hamas and its actions on Oct. 7. It of course makes no mention of the thousands of Palestinians who took to the streets of Gaza last year to demand “Hamas out, out!”
Through its actions, Hamas makes clear that it has no intention of disarming, despite claiming it accepted the Trump “peace plan.” Its leaders feel things are going their way.
Nonetheless, the Trump administration continues to proclaim its goal of forcing Hamas and Israel to move to “phase II” — the formation of a “technocratic” government in Gaza, imposition of a “Board of Peace” headed by Trump to be overall in charge, the disarmament of Hamas, the arrival of a multinational peacekeeping force and further withdrawals of Israeli troops.
Washington has floated the possibility of involving troops from Turkey and Pakistan. But the regimes of these two countries are outspoken opponents of Israel’s right to defend itself as a refuge for Jews. Israel has vetoed the presence of Turkish or Pakistani troops in Gaza. So far the U.S. rulers have no other proposals.
The U.S. administration says it has plans for rebuilding Gaza in ways that will generate profits and advance Washington’s interests. Drafted by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, two top White House aides, the $112.1 billion “Project Sunrise” is being shopped around to government officials and potential investors.