If you only delve into the details, you find weak points in the 15-point agreement meant to bring peace to Gaza. But it seems that the main thing in it is the headlines that spread across every media outlet in the world: Hamas is prepared to disarm. It is not exactly disarmament. It is storage. And it is immunity for Hamas and Islamic Jihad members from Israeli action.
But all the other points and all the stages and all the fine details, which are not entirely clear, are only backround for the headline that is almost unbelievable: Hamas is prepared to disarm. After all, this is what we prayed for. And here it comes. It may not be total victory, but if it is true, we are closer to it than at any time since October 7.
Is this a fraudulent agreement, as the critics on the panels are already claiming? Possibly. Is there any chance that something will really come of this agreement? The chances are slim. Hamas is the same Hamas, and Islamic Jihad is the same Islamic Jihad. When these murderous terrorist organizations set out to carry out the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, it is doubtful they knew that, regardless of the military front where they suffered severe blows, they would achieve unprecedented international gains. They brought Israel to the most serious diplomatic low point in its history.
Hamas flags at a funeral in the Gaza Strip
(Photo: Anadolu/Getty Images)
It is frightening to read the polls published almost every week in the U.S. As of now, there has been a reversal. Most Americans support either reducing or ending aid to Israel and sympathize more with the Palestinians than with us. This is a frightening shift: A terrorist organization set out to carry out a massacre against an ally, and the result is that the ally sinks to a low point. It is roughly like Americans supporting al-Qaida more than the U.S. itself after the September 11 attacks.
The point is that this low point did not emerge out of nowhere. True, there is Qatari funding for hatred of Israel. True, universities in the U.S. have become incubators for delusional ideas denying Israel’s right to exist. True, progressives are taking over public opinion, and the antisemitic right in the style of Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens is flourishing.
But it is also about Israeli policy. Just a few weeks after October 7, headlines began appearing: 'Hamas agrees to a ceasefire and Israel refuses.' This, of course, only got worse with more and more foolish statements by senior Israeli officials, not only Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who portrayed Israel as colonialist and fascist and Gaza residents as victims of Israel’s far-right government.
Israel has made countless strategic mistakes since October 7. Hamas is preparing another trap for it, hoping Israel will make another mistake.
So even if these are misleading statements regarding disarmament, they are another stage in the strategic war against Israel. Because in the past, before the “full-on right” took over Israel, we could claim — and it was true — that Israel said 'yes' and the Palestinian side said 'no'. Even in the Israeli response to Trump’s peace vision, there was a brief return to a policy that only benefited Israel because Netanyahu said 'yes', even some Arab countries responded positively, but the Palestinians, as usual, replied 'no'.
In the current strategic war, the important question, at least at this stage, is not whether the agreement will be implemented. The question is who can be blamed for thwarting it. As of now, the impression is that Hamas is saying 'yes'. True, when you get into the details, it is not exactly so. There are conditions. But in the strategic chess game, Hamas is gaining points.
The question is how Israel will respond. Netanyahu has maintained silence for many long hours. That is something already. But it is not enough. Because Hamas is acting strategically and saying 'yes.' If Israel acts politically and says 'no,' that is exactly what will cause another low point in its standing around the world in general, in the Arab world and especially in the U.S. Hamas has already succeeded in driving a wedge between Israel and Democrats and public opinion in the U.S. An Israeli “no” to Hamas’ “yes,” which has already been adopted by Trump, will also drive a wedge between Israel and the American president.
Israel has made countless strategic mistakes since October 7. Hamas is preparing another trap for it, hoping Israel will make another mistake. It must say 'yes'. If Hamas indeed disarms, we have gained. And if Hamas is exposed in its refusal, at least we have not lost.