Biden is rewarding Hamas
While Israeli officials continue to debate the cabinet's decision to oppose withdrawing IDF forces from the Philadelphi Corridor, Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas's deputy chief in Gaza, reiterated that this issue is merely one of several demands his group has put forward as conditions for a deal. "We stress that any agreement must encompass a full cessation of hostilities, complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing, unimpeded return of displaced persons to their homes, aid and relief for Palestinians, Gaza's reconstruction, and a prisoner exchange," al-Hayya stated.Qatar Must Extradite a Hamas Terrorist
This stance isn't new. What stood out in its presentation was the self-assurance displayed by the senior Hamas official, during a week when he and his associates were expected to be on edge, fearing repercussions for the killing of six hostages. However, the reaction to this in Israel and the United States prompted an opposite response from them. From their perspective, not only did they avoid consequences for the heinous act, but through it, they managed to escalate tensions and internal disagreements in Israel, while also prompting Washington to consider presenting a framework defined as a "final offer, without room for negotiation" ("Take it or leave it"). They swiftly capitalized on the public outrage over the hostages' deaths through a media campaign warning that this would be the outcome of Israeli military pressure, while taking a firm stance on their negotiation demands.
Hamas assumes that a final American proposal will inevitably come at Israel's expense. The primary pressure to reach an agreement is already being applied to Israeli leadership. Hamas faces no consequences for prolonging the process, and as long as it holds hostages, it can always resume negotiations from where they left off.
President Joe Biden has promised that Hamas would face consequences for the hostages' deaths. At the very least, he can be expected not to reward Hamas. Pressuring the Israeli government to yield to Hamas's demands would be tantamount to rewarding the terror group. Instead, the logical step would be American support for Israel's justified position. Such backing might even help advance negotiations.
It's time for the United States to fully leverage its influence over Hamas. One approach is to push for the removal of the group's leaders from Qatar. Washington should demand this from Doha. This leadership bears equal responsibility as the Gaza-based leadership for the October 7 terror attack and subsequent war crimes. It's the same leadership that is currently urging its operatives in the West Bank to carry out suicide attacks. Demanding the expulsion of Hamas leadership from Qatar and imposing personal sanctions on its members is the minimum expected from the US. Israel will find ways to hold the ringleaders accountable.
Qatar isn’t some humble refuge for Meshal. The terror chief lives like royalty in Doha, where he has amassed a staggering net worth of approximately $4 billion.From Naharayim to Allenby: Sad evolution of Hashemite kings response to Jordanian terror
Beyond that, Qatar offers Meshal legitimacy and a global platform. That was clear in 2017, when Meshal unveiled a new Hamas guidance document at a press conference in Doha. Meshal said Hamas was “ready to support” a Palestinian state along the June 1967 borders. But the document was merely a re-branding exercise. Hamas never altered its 1988 charter, which calls for the annihilation of Israel.
Bizarrely, for the past eleven months, Washington and much of the international community has viewed Qatar as an honest broker in the effort to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the Israeli hostages. This is both ridiculous and dangerous. Indeed, the wealthy Gulf emirate has not only housed Hamas leaders for more than a decade; it has showered Hamas with hundreds of millions of dollars.
Qatar should not be touted as a Major Non-NATO Ally and host America’s Combined Air Operations Center while also hosting Hamas. Hosting and funding Hamas actually qualifies Qatar as a state sponsor of terrorism.
At a minimum, Washington should place significant pressure on Qatar to extradite Khaled Meshal, among other Hamas leaders. Legally, such a move is more than justified and long overdue. Such pressure would begin to reset the relationship between Washington and Doha and perhaps set the stage for Qatar to jettison leaders from Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, the Islamic State, and other malign actors. The move might also put residual pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages in Gaza and end the current crisis—something that Qatar has repeatedly failed to do.
On March 13, 1997, less than three years after Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement, a Jordanian soldier opened fire on a group of high-school girls from Beit Shemesh visiting the “Island of Peace” at Naharayim on the Israel-Jordan border. Seven girls were killed.
Jordan's monarch at the time, King Hussein, quickly decried the murder and responded with a memorable display of empathy and reconciliation.
Hussein went to Beit Shemesh and visited the grieving parents as they were sitting shiva. At one home, he said, “Your daughter is like my daughter. Your loss is my loss,” and expressed deep shame for the crime.
He visited the wounded in the attack at the hospital. He also stood by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was the prime minister at the time and delivered a heartfelt apology.
Hussein’s son, King Abdullah, has not followed his father’s example.
A day after a Jordanian terrorist, Maher Dhiab Hussein al-Jazi, killed three Israelis working at the Allenby (King Hussein) Bridge - Adrian Podmeser, Yohanan Shchori, and Yuri Birnbaum - Abdullah had not denounced the murders as of Monday evening.
Jordanian Foreign Minister spokesman Sufian Quday said the attack was an “individual act,” and - according to the Jordan Times - said that Jordan rejects targeting civilians for “whatsoever reasons.”
Peace strained as attacks and tensions escalate
At the same time, and somewhat contradictorily, Quday “also called for addressing all reasons of escalation that lead to violence and the targeting of civilians.”
That’s code for: it's Israel’s fault that a Jordanian terrorist killed Israeli citizens.
The murder of the seven Beit Shemesh schoolgirls, The Washington Post reported at the time, “threatened to transform Jordan’s image among Israelis from their only friendly neighbor to just another dangerous Arab foe.” Hussein’s actions, the paper reported, were designed partly to prevent that from happening.
In the interim 27 years, much of the original promise of the Jordanian-Israeli peace agreement has faded.
Abdullah, whose ministers and wife, Queen Rania, regularly lash into Israel with vicious tirades, couldn’t care less about Israeli public opinion. This is especially true now, with the country on Tuesday going to parliamentary elections in which the Islamic faction is expected to ride a wave of anger toward Israel because of its war with Hamas into electoral gains. The last thing Abdullah wants to do right now, in this atmosphere, is to show empathy toward Israel.
The Israeli public, for its part, harbors few illusions about the king, the Jordanian public, or the prospects of peace with the Hashemite kingdom. This is a cold, functional peace - mainly between the countries' security apparatuses - that serves each side’s security interests.
Israel benefits from close security cooperation with Amman and - for the last 30 years - having had a mostly quiet eastern border. This, however, is changing, as Sunday’s attack demonstrated.
Even before that attack, there have been a number of incidents - including the arrest of two Gazans in March who crossed over from Jordan and were arrested in the Jordan Valley on their way to carrying out a terrorist attack, and the arrest a month later of a Jordanian parliamentarian smuggling arms and gold into the West Bank - indicating that this border is not what it used to be.