Israel attacked Hamas today inside Qatar, which is not only the staunch ally of the United States, but the mediator in the war between Hamas and Israel. Israel attacked Hamas just as its leaders were staying in Dohar to consider the settlement proposed by Israel and the United States.
But the Israeli strike in Qatar targeted the very Hamas political leaders who could have helped end the war diplomatically. They were considering a new U.S.-Israeli backed cease-fire plan for Gaza that President Trump had called, ominously, a “warning”. If members of Hamas can’t go to Qatar to consider a peace proposal where can they go? Then peace is impossible. And this is exactly the point. Israel did not want Hamas to consider the proposal.
Hardliners in Israel cheered when they heard the result. They don’t want a peace either. Those same hardliners have been pushing Netanyahu to abandon peace talks and achieve total victory over Hamas. By that they mean the death and destruction of every single member of Hamas. This shows how extreme the forces that support Netanyahu so vigorously are. They want total victory and see this as an opportunity to get exactly that.
This is war without limits.
This is barbarism.
It shows Netanyahu is actually opposed to peace. It wants war so it can destroy every last member of Hamas. This is a hopeless goal. Mona Yacoubian, Mona Yacoubian, director and senior adviser of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank on PBS News Hour, said, “For every leader killed another 6 appear on the scene.”
Qatar is the one and only country in the region that is respected as a mediator by both sides. It is a tiny little country between the large countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia. It had not choice but to become a mediator to survive.
As Yacoubian, said,
“Let’s note this is now the second time in just a few months that Israel has undertaken military strikes in the midst of negotiations, whether it was the U.S. and Iran or now the Qataris seeking to negotiate between Hamas and Israel.”
And is this an accident? Here is what Yacoubian added, “I think the negotiations have been set extremely far back. Any hope for a cease-fire now is just a distant prospect, at best.” There is little doubt that this has killed all hope for the hostages either.
Is there any doubt that Netanyahu has no interest in a peace settlement? And why would that be? He wants instead to obliterate Hamas. He, together with his extremist partners want to kill every last one of Hamas members no matter what. And that is the problem with this strategy? It is born out of extremism.
As Canadian expert Janet Stein said today on CBC’s The National: “This kills the peace process.” I would say that is what Netanyahu wanted. He and his extremist partners heard too many say they wanted to see negotiation and a two-state solution. No, Israel wants it all. I think I am just connecting the dots.