It’s very simple, really. According to the ceasefire the Trump administration fashioned between Hamas and Israel, in the second phase of the ceasefire, the terror group was obligated to completely disarm. And as many predicted would happen, Hamas now claims it never agreed to such an arrangement, and vows not to comply.
The Trump administration appears willing to accept an arrangement, whereby Hamas members would be allowed to keep small arms. Hamas can still kill both IDF soldiers and dissident Gazans, but not quite as effectively as before. That is not disarmament. And as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear, Israel will enforce Hamas’ original commitment, and not allow Hamas to keep any arms. That is what disarmament means. What satisfies President Donald Trump does not satisfy Israel.
Trump is so eager for a simulacrum of his ceasefire to be observed that he is willing to accept Hamas’ insistence that its members hold onto their small arms. Where he ought to be strong, he is weak, palpably eager to accept Hamas’ terms in order that “the deal,” as he sees it, will still hold. That’s not good enough for Israel, which is determined to disarm Hamas by itself if the terror group doesn’t agree to give up all of its arms. The IDF is now preparing to re-enter the part of Gaza west of the Yellow Line to strip Hamas of all of its weapons.
According to a New York Times report, officials involved in the US-led Board of Peace have drafted a plan that would let Hamas retain small arms while giving up longer-range weapons, a move Israeli officials warn would let the terrorist group maintain its grip on Gaza….
With their small arms, Hamas members can continue to suppress the family- and clan-based militias that have appeared in recent months to challenge Hamas’ rule in Gaza. They can also continue to fire, from just to the west of the Yellow Line, on IDF soldiers. Hamas soldiers who manage to infiltrate east across the Yellow Line can also use those small arms to deadly effect.
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