GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 107

Deal Or No Deal

It’s Pretty Simple

Hamas offered a deal and Israel rejected it. Some think this is a complicated diplomatic endeavor, but in reality it is simple. Hamas wants to survive and Israel will not tolerate them living at all let alone right next door again. We read more about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response to the recent offering in an article from i24news.tv:

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon made a statement to clarify his position on the release of hostages, the destruction of the terrorist organization Hamas, and the security arrangement in Gaza after the war.

"We continue the war on all fronts. We do not provide immunity to any terrorist - not in Gaza, not in Lebanon, not in Syria and not anywhere else. Whoever tries to hurt us. we hurt him," Netanyahu began his speech, amid targeted strikes on senior terrorists in the region.

Well that’s pretty straightforward. No ambiguity there. He goes on to add this adding more details of the demands from Hamas:

"Regarding our hostages, to date, we have returned 110 of them back home, and we are committed to returning them all. This is one of the objectives of the war and military pressure is a necessary condition for its completion," the prime minister said, adding "I work on this around the clock. But to be clear, I reject outright the terms of surrender of the monsters of Hamas."

"In exchange for the release of our hostages, Hamas demands the end of the war, the withdrawal of our forces from Gaza, the release of all the murderers and rapists of the Nukhba and leaving Hamas intact," he explained.

Obviously, the Prime Minister is not budging:

"If we agree to this - our warriors fell in vain. If we agree to this - we will not be able to guarantee the security of our citizens. We will not be able to return the evacuees safely to their homes, and the next October 7th will only be a matter of time."

"I am not ready to put up with such a fatal injury to Israel's security, so we will not agree to it," Netanyahu stated.

"The conditions set by Hamas make clear a simple truth - there is no substitute for victory. Only a complete victory will ensure the elimination of Hamas and the return of all our hostages."

The United States Knows How He Feels, Too

As we continue to read from this article, Netanyahu was just as frank with America:

"I said these things to President Biden in our conversation over the weekend. I greatly appreciate the US's support for Israel, and I have also expressed this to the President. However, I firmly stand by our vital interests," the Israeli prime minister referred to reports over the weekend that he was open to a two-state solution, with U.S. President Joe Biden even alluding to possible ways to make it happen.

"I emphasized to President Biden our determination to complete all war objectives, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel."

As for a two state solution, Netanyahu laid out his feelings on that as well:

"That is why I insist that after we achieve complete victory, after we eliminate Hamas, there will be no factor in Gaza that finances terrorism, educates for terrorism or operates terrorism," Netanyahu insisted, referring to Palestinian curriculum that incites terrorism and antisemitism which has caused funding to be frozen.

"Gaza must be demilitarized, under full security control of the State of Israel. I will not compromise on full Israeli security control over all the territory west of Jordan," Netanyahu stated, adding "As Prime Minister of Israel, I firmly stood by this position in the face of great international and internal pressures."

The Prime Minister wants anyone who will listen what is at stake now:

"My insistence is what prevented for years the establishment of a Palestinian state which would have posed an existential danger to Israel. As long as I am prime minister, I will continue to firmly stand by it," he stressed.

"If someone has a different position, let them show leadership and state their position honestly to the citizens of Israel," Netanyahu concluded.

I think he is extremely clear. But the pressure is still building on him to relent. From these statements, I think he’s drawn a line in the sand. No deal.

Hostage Families Insist On Taking The Deal

In a sign of strength of resolve, the families along with protestors are drawing a line in the sand as well as we see in a report from The Times Of Israel:

Family members of Hamas hostages, accompanied by protesters, pitch tents on the sidewalk of Azza Street outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in Jerusalem after staging a protest demanding the government strike an immediate hostage deal.

The demonstration takes place on the backdrop of a proposed plan by the US, Egypt and Qatar to end the ongoing war and arrange the return of the hostages held in Hamas captivity.

Apparently they intend to wait out there for as long as it takes:

According to a spokesman from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the demonstrators will remain in their tents until “the prime minister agrees to a deal to return the hostages.”

Alongside the tents hang signs and posters calling for the hostages’ release. One in the center of the set-up reads: “We love our children more than we hate Hamas.”

In another article from The Times Of Israel we hear from one family member of a hostage:

Jon Polin, the father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, speaks to protesters outside the prime minister’s private residence in Jerusalem.

“All of us as citizens have a contract with the country,” says Polin. “In exchange for our service and taxes, we expect the government to keep us safe, and this government and prime minister totally failed us.”

“We ask that they fix the failure of October 7… Bringing home 136 hostages in body bags can never be considered any part of a victory,” he says.

Gallant Updates Hostage Families On Progress Of Hostage Rescues

We read in an a report from The Times Of Israel that Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that they are closer to meeting both of their goals:

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with the families of the Hamas hostages, telling them that there are positive signs the IDF is moving toward accomplishing the goals of the war.

“The operation in Khan Younis is in full swing. There are initial signs that reaching the most sensitive places for Hamas is advancing us toward accomplishing the two primary goals of the war,” he tells them, according to a statement from his office, referring to both the return of the hostages and the toppling of Hamas.

Gallant meets weekly with the families of the hostages, providing them with operational updates.

It is easy for me to tell these people to see that Hamas will take full advantage of their emotions and play them as the compassionate ones for wanting to make a deal, but they need to see what is happening. In the short term they may get as many hostages back as Hamas will allow, but what theses terrorists want in return will lead to other families losing loved ones at the hands of long term attacks with rockets and bombers once Hamas is allowed all their fellow terrorists to be released back into the West Bank or Gaza. And what of the IDF soldiers who have been killed trying to get these hostages back? I feel for these families and wish that they were never taken hostage to be used as pawns in the cruel game Hamas is playing. I pray they take a step back and realize who the real villains are here and see that the short and long term play is to pound Hamas into the ground until they have no choice but to surrender or be eliminated. I don’t like the options in the suitcases, but if they love all the children of Israel, they’ll accept the deal the IDF if offering to Hamas instead of the deal on the table from these terrorists.