On The Clock – Again

It seems that Hamas is always being given a deadline for obeying a ceasefire after the timeline is being disobeyed over and over again. We see that another deadline is being given, this time from Israel in a report from World Israel News:

Israel’s government is privately pressing President Donald Trump’s administration to set a deadline for international troops to disarm Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to three Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

If true then the last of the remains of the last hostage must be returned, something that Israel fears is not being pushed right now. And Israel is concerned that Hamas will soften the demand to disarm to move to rebuilding Gaza with them still there negotiating how to disarm. Israel also doubts any nation will stand up to Hamas as part of the International Stabilization Force (ISF):

Israeli leaders expect the International Stabilization Force to begin deploying to Gaza early next year as part of the second phase of Trump’s peace plan for the strip, which began with an Oct. 10 ceasefire in the more than two-year-long Gaza war. But the leaders believe the force is unlikely to fulfill its mandate to disarm Hamas and are seeking a date from the Trump administration after which the Israeli military would be free to resume fighting the Palestinian terrorist group.

“We are pushing the United States for a deadline. So if the ISF doesn’t do its job within two months, three months, whatever it is, then we will say, ‘OK, enough. ISF, you go out or at least don’t disturb us,’ and then the IDF goes in,” an Israeli official said, referring to the military by its initials.

One Israeli lawmaker explains it this way:

Ohad Tal, a lawmaker from Israel’s governing Religious Zionism party and a member of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Israel and the United States must agree to such a deadline based on an understanding that Hamas will not voluntarily give up its weapons and the ISF will not force the group to do so.

“Israel is prepared to allow the Trump administration to move forward with its phase two approach, but we will need to set a deadline if the ISF fails in its mission,” he said.

“Hamas must be disarmed. But Hamas will not give up its weapons voluntarily, and we are seriously doubtful that any international force would succeed at this. There is no alternative but to allow the IDF to finish the job in Gaza.”

A Strong Deadline

Israel is demanding that the Hamas stalling ends. Period:

According to a senior Israeli official, “There will be a deadline, and when that deadline hits, either the ISF will disarm Hamas or the IDF will do it.”

“We’re giving it a chance. We obviously want this thing to work,” he said of phase two. “But we have no illusions. We’re not going to give this endless time.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu voices his doubts about the ISF:

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week voiced skepticism that the ISF could disarm Hamas, saying, “We know that there are certain missions that this force could do. There are certain things they can’t do, maybe the main task they can’t do, but we will see.”

“We can do it the easy way, or the hard way,” he said, hinting at the Israeli military option. “But in the end it will be done.”

The current deal does assure that the ISF will work, but there are signs that the US is relenting to Hamas and the other Arab leaders who want Hamas to survive, at lease a little longer:

Under Trump’s Gaza peace plan, the ISF will ensure the demilitarization of Gaza, enabling the Israeli military to withdraw and a transitional government of Palestinian technocrats backed by “Arab and international partners” to take over, rebuild, and deradicalize the strip. Israel, eight Arab and Muslim states, and the U.N. Security Council endorsed the framework.

So far Hamas is breaking every condition and states that they will never disarm and leave:

In the ongoing first phase, Hamas freed the remaining hostages held in Gaza—with the exception of the body of 27-year-old Israeli Ran Gvili, which the group claims it cannot locate—in exchange for Israel’s release of Palestinian detainees. But Hamas officials have refused to disarm or surrender power according to the terms of the plan, and the Trump administration has appeared reconciled to the group’s refusals for now.

Negotiators appear to be making the process more and more complex, something Hamas is more than happy to agree to. If what we hear is true, the war will stretch into a third year:

Trump’s top Middle East envoys have indicated that the plan will at first be implemented only in the 53 percent of Gaza behind Israeli military lines, leaving Hamas in control of the other 47 percent where nearly all of the strip’s some 2 million residents currently live. U.S. officials anonymously told Reuters last week that ISF troops will begin deploying to the Israeli-controlled half of Gaza as early as January. But they said it will take much of next year to get the ISF in place and the force will not fight Hamas.

The Arab nations think Israel is hampering the process, something that is patently false:

White House envoy Steve Witkoff was to meet on Friday in Miami with senior officials from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to discuss phase two of Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Axios reported, saying the four countries “feel that both Israel and Hamas are slow-walking the implementation of the second phase of the deal and are interested in maintaining the current status quo.”

Axios has previously reported that the White House is pressuring Netanyahu to do more to advance peace in Gaza, though Trump downplayed such reporting on Monday.

Only Israel Can End Hamas

It’s becoming more and more evident that only military action will end Hamas. Trump disagrees:

Kobi Michael, a former senior official in Israel’s military intelligence and Strategic Affairs Ministry, said Trump appeared intent on maintaining the perception of progress toward peace in Gaza by restraining Israel and making concessions to Hamas and its allies, such as Qatar and Turkey.

If we haven’t figured it out until now, Trump is letting the Arabs nations who still hate Israel call the shots. That needs to stop. Michael states what should be obvious:

“The ISF will not fight Hamas. The only entity on the entire globe that is willing and able to do that is the IDF,” said Michael, expressing the Israeli consensus.

Politics, not common sense, are ruling the day. As usual, follow the money and a peace prize:

“But I think President Trump is looking toward the Nobel Peace Prize of 2026, and mainly he wants to realize the economic and business potential here in the Middle East. I think he will do his utmost to ensure that nothing will interfere.”

Micael only sees three ways this will go starting with one and two which I think is seen in the Psalm 83 war:

Michael predicted that as a result, the most likely of three possible scenarios for phase two of Trump’s Gaza peace plan was that Hamas would rebuild its terror state in Gaza, claim victory, and set the stage for another bloody regional war.

“In the end, there will be no disarmament of Hamas. Hamas will strengthen itself, and at some point we will reach another clash. This will be a very difficult multi-front challenge for Israel, and this will be a disaster for the free world, because it will embolden the radicals among the Arabs and the Muslims here in the region and beyond.”

In the two less likely scenarios, according to Michael, Trump would allow Israel to resume large-scale military operations against Hamas in the coming months. The states behind the plan would then either pull out or, under heavy pressure from Trump, continue with phase two alongside the renewed Israeli offensive.

The third option is a more peaceful one but one I highly doubt will happen given the thousands of years of hatred these Arab nations harbor and still harbor, but Michael can dream:

Michael said the final scenario would be best, giving Israel international help with civilian affairs in Gaza and creating a foundation for greater regional normalization.

“We are talking about opening the path to a new regional architecture,” he said.

“The Arab regimes that until today scapegoated Israel and exploited the Palestinian issue for domestic political purposes will have to take responsibility for the problem they created. This will lead to many new opportunities, opportunities that do not exist today.”

Hamas Must Be Ended First

We’ve known this since October 7th, 2023, and it is the way it was always going to end, in mine and others into Bible prophecy. Another former Israeli military officer at least agrees on that:

Amir Avivi, a former senior Israeli military officer who is close to Israel’s government, doubted any amount of pressure from Trump could meaningfully advance phase two before the military finished off Hamas. He confirmed that Israeli leaders were “insisting on a clear date” from the Americans for Hamas’s disarmament and expressed confidence that “common sense” would prevail.

“Common sense says first, go and destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza, and then do all the rest,” he said, referring to the phase two plan’s goals of “demilitarizing the Gaza Strip and bringing in this new government.”

And it makes political sense as well:

Avivi argued that political logic also dictated the resumption of the war, noting that Israel’s national elections must be held by Oct. 27, 2026, and the U.S. midterms are a week later.

“If Hamas remains in Gaza, Netanyahu is done [politically], and I don’t think he wants to be done. I think both he and Trump want to sign a regional peace agreement before the elections,” Avivi said, referring to mooted expansion of the Abraham Accords normalizing regional ties with Israel. You can’t move on to regional peace without first destroying Hamas. Again, it’s common sense, and in this case, common sense will prevail.”

Avivi is a glass half full guy, it appears. I want him to be right and I think he is. The PM is saying that he will broach this topic in a week:

Netanyahu has said he will discuss the ISF and other aspects of phase two with Trump during a Dec. 29 visit to the United States.