How would you feel if all your friends told you that you better do the number one thing in the world that you want to do least? If you don’t, they’ll be done with you forever. Not sure what emotions you might experience? Then, find one of the leaders of Hamas, buy him a cup of coffee, and let him tell you just how miserable he is right now, because that is currently the terrorist group’s exact situation. President Trump had presented a 20-point agreement to initiate phase one of the end of the Israel-Gaza War. Hamas was doing their usual hemming and hawing, trying to draw out the process until it broke down. Only this time, instead of supporting them, their best friends, the Qataris, along with the Turks and the Egyptians, told them you better sign or we’re completely cutting you off. That’s what it took to get them back in gear, and Hamas has said they’ll sign.
This is no surprise to President Trump or Prime Minister Netanyahu. In fact, it is the culmination of a brilliant strategy that began exactly one month ago with the “failed” Israeli air attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar. What the media loves to portray as a botched assassination attempt was actually a key step that scared the Qataris and others into forcing Hamas’s hand. The magnificent scheme cooked up by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu is worthy of a Netflix mini-series. President Trump will be coming to the Middle East soon and will be speaking in the Knesset. All the rumors of the rift between Trump and Netanyahu were part of the scheme.
In the next 72 hours, the hostages will be returned home. On Sunday, 20 innocent Israeli hostages will be returned and on Monday the remaining fallen hostages will come home. In return, the terrorists will receive 250 of their own hardened members. And, in case you are wondering, none of the terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre will be among those returned. In return, Israel will pull back from their present positions but will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor and inside the borders of Gaza. Hamas has in their mind that this is the end of the war, but Israel says, “We’ll see.” This agreement is just phase one of the process. If the terrorists fail to keep any part of the agreement to the letter, Israel will have full permission to destroy them.
Once the agreement is fully set in motion, Israel and the United States will be open to focus on other areas. That means that Iran needs to be looking over their shoulders. The U.S. has already moved massive forces to the nearby Persian Gulf area. The Houthis also need to prepare for some visitations, since Israel can now put their primary focus on dealing with those terrorists.
An Obligatory Flotilla Story
I am writing this story under formal protest, because the ridiculous flotillas to “break the blockade on Gaza” are technically news. But, oy vavoy, I hate giving these people any recognition at all. Sure, they did provide a little comedy relief, like when Greta Thunberg got demoted to a different boat and one of the organizers resigned after some bullying by a trans contingent. And there was that meme that said that Greta was the first hostage victim in history whose kidnappers’ only demand is that she leave. Actually, I guess based on entertainment value alone, the flotillas weren’t such a bad thing after all.
The Dapper Syrian’s New Target
Now that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has slaughtered Alawites, Christians, and Druze, he is in search of a new target to mollify his murderous ISIS gangs. It appears he may have found it in the Kurds of Aleppo. Deadly fighting broke out on Monday between the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Syrian government forces. Because the SDF is backed by the U.S., if this conflict continues it could draw America into the conflict to a certain extent.
Macron Loses Another Prime Minister
At just 27 days, French President Emmanuel Macron’s latest Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu became the shortest tenured PM in the history of the Fifth Republic when he resigned his office on Monday. This leaves the beleaguered president with a choice. Does he appoint yet another sacrificial prime minister? Does he take a chance and dissolve parliament, hoping for better luck with new elections? Or does he just resign? I know my choice for him.
