Just Say No

According to a report from The Jerusalem Post the US wants Israel to slow down their Gaza offensive:

The United States has asked Israel in recent days to delay its full-scale military operation in Gaza as part of efforts to exhaust negotiations for a hostage deal, two sources familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

The details of the request are simple:

The request included two key components: Delay the full-scale operation in Gaza and enable ongoing negotiations to proceed in parallel with the military operation.

The problem is that Israel has no intentions of slowing down or leaving areas they capture:

While Israel is currently conducting significant operations in Gaza, officials in Jerusalem have made it clear that once the full-scale ground operation begins, Israel will not withdraw from areas it enters, even as part of a potential deal. Moreover, the possibility of a ceasefire as part of any agreement would become more complicated.

“Once the maneuver begins, we will act with full force and will not stop until all objectives are achieved,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said several days ago.

Prime Minister Netanyahu might capitulate, though:

Despite the ongoing military activity and as a result of Israeli statements, the US has asked Israel to allow the current negotiations for a potential hostage deal to continue. “If there’s an opportunity for a temporary ceasefire to bring back hostages, we are prepared for that,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last Wednesday.

This could all be a moot point since negotiations aren’t really going anywhere so far:

Israel decided to recall its delegation from Qatar last Thursday after Hamas insisted on American guarantees to end the war as part of any agreement.

Israeli officials maintain that the only deal currently on the table is the "Witkoff framework," which includes the release of 10 hostages and a 60-day ceasefire. An Israeli source told the Post a few days ago, “It’s deadlocked.”

The US is still trying to get a deal:

Although the Israeli delegation has left Qatar, the US administration continues indirect talks with Hamas through Dr. Bashara Bahbah, who previously led the “Arab Americans for Trump” campaign.

Hamas has literally no intentions of releasing hostages unless Israel withdraws from the areas they want to take back during those 60 days. And they have even less reason to release all the hostages at the same time unless they have an ironclad deal where they remain in Gaza and the fighting ends. Again, I can’t see that happening either. Maybe, just maybe when Hamas is on it’s last leg they could bargain to survive if they leave the area. If we go by previous history the thought of these terrorists being willing to meet Israel’s goals will never happen. So I say to Israel adopt the Nancy Reagan slogan and just say no to the US request. You’re on the precipice of winning this war. It would be foolish to let up on Hamas now. Victory is in your grasp.

Don’t Bargain With Terrorists

As if we needed more reason to just continue to trounce Hamas, someone who knows a thing or two about how these terrorists work gave her thoughts on things as we read in an article from World Israel News:

A young Israeli soldier who was kidnapped from her army base on October 7th and held hostage in Gaza for some 14 months told France’s Foreign Minister that diplomatic agreements are not effective when dealing with the Hamas terror group.

The former hostage is Agam Berger and she was released after 482 days as a hostage by Hamas. Her sentiments are pretty strong about negotiations with Hamas:

Hamas isn’t interested in coexistence, Agam Berger told French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris during a meeting on Friday.

Berger said this on the topic of diplomacy:

“They don’t want [to live] ‘together.’ All of these diplomatic solutions… it’s not going to work because it’s us or them,” Berger told Barrot in Hebrew-language remarks, in a clip widely published by Israeli media outlets.

She did say that if the fighting could be avoided it should. But she echoed her own version of the saying “never again” once a war begins:

“If it were possible not to choose war, we wouldn’t choose it,” she added. “But the moment that there is a war for the existence of our country — that’s what we’re going to do.”

Barrot did upload pictures from the interview:

Later on Friday, Barrot posted pictures on his Instagram account of his meeting with Berger and hostage families.

He added his opinions as well:

Berger was “held captive for 473 days in inhumane conditions,” Barrot wrote.

“All hostages must be released. Now,” he stressed in the French-language message. “Hamas must be disarmed and excluded from the political future of Gaza.”

Interestingly Barrot’s boss publicly doesn’t share that opinion at all:

Berger’s meeting with the French diplomat comes on the heels of President Emmanuel Macron slamming Israel for its expanded offensive in Gaza.

Macron, along with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, recently released a statement threatening sanctions and other “concrete actions” against Israel, aimed at forcing the Jewish State to end its war against the terror group.

Macron instead wants Israel to stop the war and enact the failed two-state solution, effectively throwing Hamas a lifeline when they need it the most. Although you already know this, here is a small summary of what they said:

The statement called the renewal of intense fighting against Hamas “egregious” and “disproportionate.”

Macron, Starmer, and Carney also referenced to “intolerable levels of human suffering” in the Gaza Strip, though they failed to mention Hamas’ crimes against Gazan civilians, including murdering them for protesting against the war.

I advise the US to listen to this interview before they pressure Israel as they engage in more talks with Hamas. It would save money on air travel at least.