Bait and Switch in modern Jewish history.
The 1917 Balfour Declaration provided for a Jewish homeland in the land that is roughly Israel today, with the land from Gaza to the Jordan River. This future promise of a land of their own meant a great deal to the Jewish people, many of whom were starting to come to Mandate Palestine to work the land. During World War II, the British realized they desperately needed Arab help in defeating the Axis powers. So, they promised the Arabs different things than they had stated in the Balfour document. The land meant for the Arabs in Mandate Palestine became Hashemite Jordan, and the local Arabs were supposed to make do with what had been promised to the Jews. Over 100 years later, peace still does not exist between the river and the sea.
This week is a big anti-Israel confab in Doha. Anyone who is anybody in Israel-bashing is there. Bill Gates gave the opening speech, though he should be hiding under a rock with the Epstein files on their way to public dissemination. While the Doha confab was going, Khaled Mashaal, one of the few living Hamas leaders, announced from Turkey that Hamas would never give up its weapons or power in Gaza. A top Qatari official purred on the Doha stage that there will be no ceasefire until Israel completely leaves Gaza. A Saudi official there conveniently stated that it is Israel—and not the corrupt kleptocracy of the Palestinian Authority (PA)—that really needs political reform. Trump’s man in Turkey said that Israel pretends to be a democracy, while a benevolent monarchy is really the way to go.
Israel was promised in the ceasefire to which she agreed that Hamas would be disarmed. Donald Trump has said that the terror group will be disarmed “one way or another.” Now, we hear that Hamas will not be disarmed. We were told that Hamas would no longer control the Gaza Strip; now, we learn that Hamas plans to control by force the land under its control. If Israel leaves Gaza, as demanded by the white-robed autocrat, then Israel will be well-positioned to have its civilians killed again by Hamas murderers only a few meters away from Israeli potato fields. ISIS terrorist turned Armani dictator of Syria says that Israel is “chasing ghosts” in its attempt to hold onto Syrian land to protect Israel’s northern flank. It has been reported that Iran has given Hezbollah $1 billion in the past few months to rebuild its capabilities.
So what is Israel supposed to believe? Hamas will be disarmed or not? Israel will keep a buffer from Gazan threats or not? Hamas will be replaced by an alternative government or not? Israel will keep the Hermon Mountain or not? Hezbollah is rearming or there will never be peace with Lebanon? Imagine using Waze, and at every point in the trip, it gives you three options: “Go straight! Take the left! Go to the right!” You would be confused. And Israel is getting confused. Donald Trump made some very clear claims about the different phases of his plan. All of the live hostages came home, and there is one more body of a murdered Israeli still needed to be returned. But Hamas is not giving up its weapons or power. So what happens next?
Israel would be wise to worry as much as possible about its interests, without angering the Trump administration. There is no force that can be deployed in Gaza that would be willing to endure a shootout with Hamas terrorists. This is a serious problem. Hamas can rearm and move weapons and no U.A.E., Turkish, Egyptian, PA, or UN force would try to stop them. We see how pathetic UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army are at trying to deal with a far stronger and ideologically more aggressive Hezbollah. So Israel will have to keep the buffers and use pinpoint attacks to mow the lawn in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Nobody will do that which is promised, namely to remove weapons and keep anti-Israel forces in check. Several anti-Hamas clans are fighting the terror group. The head of the most prominent group was assassinated last week and died in an Israeli hospital. His second-in-command says that he plans to keep fighting. They don’t love Israel or Jews. I doubt that they eat matzah ball soup on Friday nights. But they hate Hamas more, and that is the way things work in the Middle East. Tony Blair and his ilk never understood the “hamoolahs” or clans. That is where a Palestinian Arab has his allegiance. Those working with Israel do so because they hate the terror of Hamas against the Palestinian people. Jew lovers they are not, but they have the same enemy as the IDF so can work together as needed.
One thing that the world demands is a Palestinian state. I wrote last week about 200 morons from Hollywood who have fallen in love with mass murderer, Marwan Barghouti. It is as if people look at their watches and say, “Oh, the time has come for the Palestinians to have a state.” The Palestinians do not deserve a state any more than others like the Kurds, for whom nobody is going to bat to carve them a state out of Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. One may get a state by some UN fiat, but most states come from war and victory. The problem with the Palestinians is that they lack all of the prerequisites to have a state of their own. They have glorified terror to the point of naming major streets and squares after mass murderers of civilians. They have never taken responsibility for their actions that led to the deaths of many women and children. They continue to fund terrorists in Israeli jails and try every Houdini trick in the book to hide the payments or call them by a different name. One of the major strikes against Barghouti is that he has never apologized for his many terrorist acts and has never sworn off going back to terror should he get out of jail. The Palestinians are like your kid who turns 16 and asks where his new car is. Sorry, bub, show me that you can drive and act responsibly with the family car, and then we can talk about you having your own wheels.
I wish that Washington could wean itself off of Qatari money, but it cannot. Donald Trump proudly took possession of a 747, apparently gifted during the days of President Auto-Pen. His top people were at a reception at the Qatari embassy last week. The Qataris convinced “conservative influencers” to forgo turkey and spend Thanksgiving in Doha for paid brainwashing. This week’s confab has Tucker Carlson and other Israel-haters in attendance to pile on the Jewish state. How can you identify a conservative podcaster or influencer? Throw a shiny Qatari-funded nickel on the sidewalk and see who lunges fastest to grab it.
Israel is on the menu this week in Doha, but was not invited to the banquet. The Qataris have dealt with Israelis directly for years, and this could have been their opportunity to invite someone just under the prime minister to present Israel’s case and talk to Israel haters in the crowd. But Israel was not invited, because the Qatari/Muslim Brotherhood program is to get rid of Israel, Jews, and Christians in that order. Wake up, Washington, before it is too late. Qatar is no friend of the Christian West. It is your worst enemy wrapped in a smile. If they succeed, then everything that is meaningful to the U.S. will be gone. Take that to the bank.
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