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Silence the Diplomatic Clock
Golda Meir. Photo: Wiki Commons.
JNS.org – Former Prime Minister Golda Meir once said, “I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.”
Never has this been truer than in Israel’s current war to destroy Hamas.
For many years, a figurative diplomatic clock was set for Israel every time it launched a defensive military operation.
This clock is not brought out for any other conflict in the world. It simply does not exist except in the imagination of Israel’s foreign interlocutors, who try to burn it into the psyches of the Jewish state’s decision-makers.
As a result, the clock has become an ever-present part of Israel’s wars, almost as much as the ingenious deconstruction of the concept of “proportionately,” which is used as a weapon against Israel to ensure that it fights with one-and-a-half hands tied behind its back.
But the diplomatic clock is a fraud, and Israel’s leaders must see through it.
There can be no specific time limitations on responding to the murder, rape and butchery of 1,200 people, the wounding of thousands of others and the vicious kidnapping and humiliation of 240 Israelis and foreigners.
There is no precedent for such crimes. Thus, there can be no time limit set on how long it takes for Israel to ensure that it never happens again.
Israel’s wars are not fought halfway around the world. They are fought on our borders, mere meters from our homes, towns and cities.
The war on the Jewish state launched on Oct. 7 broke something that needs fixing, regardless of how long it takes.
Unfortunately, as we know, the diplomatic clock is very much brought to meetings with foreign leaders, who are eager to end the war before Israel’s goals have been achieved.
According to a leaked readout from a recent Israeli war cabinet meeting attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Blinken placed a very firm proverbial stopwatch on the table in front of his Israeli counterparts.
During the meeting, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “The entire Israeli society is united behind the goal of dismantling Hamas, even if it takes months.”
Blinken reportedly replied, “I don’t think you have the credit for that.”
One would think that Israel’s closest ally, which knows how Israel has suffered, watched the horror movie chronicling the massacre and heard Hamas say that Oct. 7 was just a “dress rehearsal,” would be more attuned and sensitive to the Jewish state’s needs.
My expectation is that Israel will ignore Blinken and many others who demand that Israel speed up the war, because speeding up means many more Israeli soldiers will be killed.
The IDF has been very successful thus far in taking its time in conquering territory and flushing out Hamas terrorists. It sends in the air force first and deploys ground forces only when absolutely necessary. Speeding up this process will mean making mistakes and forcing Israel to send in its soldiers without the advantage.
No Israeli leader can or should be doing anything but putting our war aims and the safety of our soldiers first. These go hand in hand, and while the process might be trying for some foreign leaders, Israel has experienced enough bloodshed and loss already.
Israeli leaders must say firmly and confidently that the only clock that matters is the one that stops when Israel achieves victory. Not a minute before. Israel must say very clearly to the world that it governs the clock; it is not governed by the clock. This must be said now, not when the pressure mounts.
Those who claim to be Israel’s allies must help, not hinder Israel’s effort to win this war. They must dispense with their obsession with time; but if they do not, it is the responsibility of Israel’s leaders to silence the clock themselves.
The post Silence the Diplomatic Clock first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.