RSS
The Dismal Status Quo of Gaza: What Can Be Done?
Trucks carrying aid move, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri
The first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel is shakily proceeding. Hamas, despite threatening to halt agreed hostage releases, freed three more captives on Saturday, and the IDF will maintain its withdrawal from the Netzerim corridor in central Gaza. All as previously agreed.
Unfortunately, phase 2 — negotiation of a permanent war-ending truce including Hamas’ release of the 65 or so hostages remaining in captivity (after stage 1) — is not going to happen. The Netanyahu government’s preconditions for a permanent truce include not only the release of all hostages, but the disarmament of Gaza and exile of Hamas’ leaders.
Hamas, in turn, even if potentially able to negotiate the release of hundreds more Palestinian security prisoners, is not likely to agree to surrender its armed foothold in Gaza — because Hamas’ fundamentalist Jihadist credo is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, not to the rehabilitation of Gaza and relief for its displaced and distressed masses. That ideological fixation precludes military surrender.
Without a phase 2 truce deal, the picture is gloomy. To implement its original plan to uproot and disarm Hamas, including the 15,000 soldiers Hamas now claims under its command, the IDF would have to reinvade Gaza. There would be prolonged gorilla warfare, with considerable casualties on both sides. There would be collateral civilian casualties and continued dislocation of Gazan civilians. The remaining Israeli hostages will likely die in captivity. Resumption of hostilities is indeed a dismal prospect.
Some Israeli public voices fault Benjamin Netanyahu for the coming failure of negotiations, citing selfish political motives for prolonging the Israel/Hamas war. Netanyahu knows that if the war ends at this stage, there will be new elections and his reign as prime minister will likely end. This is because his current coalition partners are fixated on a total victory. For these ultra nationalists, this means not only disarmament of Hamas but long-term Israeli presence in the Gaza strip.
Absent the peril facing 65 more hostages, the case for the IDF finishing the uprooting of Hamas might be stronger.
Hamas is an abomination — a radical Jihadist sect viewing Jews as sub-humans to be pursued and killed (according to the 1988 Hamas charter). A long-standing terrorist menace, Hamas, on October 7, 2023, perpetrated the worst disaster in modern Jewish history — an onslaught including mass murder, torture, and kidnapping of children and the elderly.
Hamas’ continuing brutality and dehumanization were illustrated in the pictures of the recently released male hostages — gaunt, debilitated, and abused by 15 months of being held underground and chained. The hundreds of thousands of Israelis living within missile range of Gaza deserve to be free of the terrorist peril that Hamas poses. Yet liquidating Hamas’ lingering armed menace entails excruciating costs – jeopardizing the lives of remaining hostages and of those IDF soldiers to be re-dispatched to Gaza.
What is the impact of President Donald Trump’s plan to displace the bulk of Gazan residents and to rebuild Gaza in a fashion making it suitable for ultimate American ownership? The notion of mass, forced transfer of Gazans is delusional. As Shira Efron commented: “Turning Gaza into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ is not a serious plan. It is unfeasible politically, with certain rejection by dozens of countries and the Arab states. Who will pay for it? Who will carry it out? What countries would take Palestinians in? And most important, do Palestinians want to leave?”
The impracticality of the Trump plan is indeed patent. Trump envisioned Jordan and Egypt as the prime recipients of Gaza’s transferred refugees. But both King Abdullah and President el Sisi, along with Saudi Arabia, have expressed opposition to mass transfer. His threat to use foreign aid as leverage is meaningful, but unlikely to work in the face of worldwide condemnation of mass ouster of Palestinian civilians from Gaza. It also gives leverage to those who claimed that Israel’s plan all along was to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians.
The clearest impact of the Trump displacement plan is to reinforce the resistance of the Netanyahu coalition to any resolution of the Israel/Hamas war, short of total victory. Trump has radically departed from the Biden administration’s position (endorsed by several other past presidents) that the Palestinians in Gaza ought to be part of a two-state solution — forming a demilitarized, sovereign state along with West Bank Palestinians. (Trump has promised a declaration about the status of the West Bank within a short time).
In essence, Trump’s support for a Palestinian-free Gaza undercuts the widespread Israeli public pressure for Netanyahu to promptly negotiate an end to the war against Hamas and the return of all hostages. In the continued absence of a viable “day after” plan for civil administration of Gaza, the Netanyahu coalition can pursue the idea of occupation, if not Jewish settlement, in Gaza.
While the Trump plan is delusional, there is an element of justice buried within it. Trump is right that most of Gaza is now rubble and that neighboring countries have the space to accommodate relocation of many Gazans. Israel has never pushed for forced transfer of Palestinians from disputed territory and such an idea engenders both widespread condemnation and raises serious issues of international law.
But what if some Gazans want to escape the debacle that Hamas has precipitated? Shouldn’t they be allowed to make such a voluntary choice free of intimidation by Hamas? And shouldn’t Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia be subject to pressure to accommodate those Gazans who wish to leave? Arab world intransigence toward any migration of Palestinians is reminiscent of the historic exploitation of Palestinian refugees (from Israel’s 1948 war against invading Arab armies) as a destabilizing force against Israel.
Norman L. Cantor is Emeritus Professor of Law at Rutgers University Law School where he taught for 35 years. He also served as visiting professor at Columbia, Seton Hall, Tel Aviv University, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem law schools. He has published five books, scores of scholarly articles in law journals, and, more recently, numerous blog length commentaries (often on Israel/U.S. relations) in outlets like The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, and The Algemeiner. His personal blog is seekingfairness.wordpress.com. He lives in Tel Aviv and in Hoboken, NJ.
The post The Dismal Status Quo of Gaza: What Can Be Done? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Hamas Leader Calls Trump’s Gaza Plan ‘Bulls—,’ Vows Palestinians Will Not Depart ‘Homeland’
Palestinian terrorists and members of the Red Cross gather near vehicles on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
Members of the Hamas terrorist group lambasted US President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to remove Palestinian civilians from the Gaza strip as a “bull— plan.”
The remarks were made during what appears to be a rally in the Khan Yunis town of southern Gaza celebrating the transfer of the bodies of four hostages—Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz—back to Israel after they had been murdered by Hamas. In the video, a large crowd was circled around a dirt pit, attentively listening to a leader of the terrorist group both criticized Trump as an “unleashed bull” and promise that future generations of Palestinians would continue fighting against Israel.
Hamas erected a large banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a blood-drenched vampire superimposed on pictures of the Bibas family and Lifshitz. Thousands of Palestinian civilians assembled to partake in the event, shouting chants of victory.
“Do you really think that boy that attacked a tank barefooted with his bayonet and IED will leave his homeland because of fear?” the terrorist member said, “What do you think might frighten us? We’ve made very good friends with death lately.”
The Hamas member warned Trump to “think twice” about his proposal to vacate Gaza civilians from the war-torn strip, arguing that the terrorist group is capable of “delivering” death to its opponents.
“The war criminal Netanyahu & his Nazi Army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes,” the banner read.
Earlier this month, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the White House, held a press conference following their private meeting in the Oval Office. Trump asserted that the US would assume control of Gaza and develop it economically into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
Trump has also referred to Gaza as a “demolition site” and said its residents have “no alternative” but to leave, suggesting Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states as possible relocation sites.
Trump has called for Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states in the region to take in Palestinians from Gaza. Thus far, every state in the region has refused to absorb Palestinian migrants from Gaza.
The post Hamas Leader Calls Trump’s Gaza Plan ‘Bulls—,’ Vows Palestinians Will Not Depart ‘Homeland’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
‘Chaos’: Students for Justice in Palestine Forced to Abandon Building Occupation at Swarthmore College
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) members during its illegal occupation of Parrish Hall on February 19, 2025. Photo: Screenshot/X
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania led a failed takeover of an administrative building that it was forced to abandon after just 11 hours, according to a recent report by The Phoenix, the school’s campus daily.
“Chaos and uncertainty ruled campus yesterday,” wrote staff writers Daniel Perrin and Ella Walker on Thursday, describing the welter of events which saw SJP occupy the Parrish Hall administrative building and security officials launch a frenetic operation to boot them out.
While SJP had announced an “emergency rally” scheduled for noon that day, there was little indication that it planned on commandeering the building and remaining inside of it indefinitely, according to the report in The Phoenix.
“Swarthmore students hold sit-in to demand accountability for political repression and complicity in genocide,” SJP said in a statement after revealing its intentions. “We will not rest until Swarthmore College divests from the genocidal Zionist entity and drops all charges against our peers. Free Palestine and long live the student intifada.”
Inside, the students dressed like Hamas fighters, wrapping their faces with keffiyeh in a style coined by the group’s members to avoid being identified as terrorists.
SJP members left the building before the 11pm deadline set by the College. Administrators told The Phoenix that they “do not expect to issue interim suspensions.”
Occupying campus property to protest Israel and Zionism is now an old phenomenon. Thousands of students did so during the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year, precipitating an epidemic of antisemitic hate crime assaults, property destruction, and hate speech which cost several university presidents their jobs. So-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampments” which sprung in campuses across the United States last year caught university administrators off guard, and they hesitated to discipline protesters who openly violated school rules, creating an impression that rule-breaking was acceptable so long as the students doing it were promoting left-wing viewpoints.
Swarthmore resolved on Wednesday not to make a similar mistake, The Phoenix reported. No sooner had the students captured the building than security officials moved to lock it down to prevent both SJP’s being joined by more students and receiving supplies such as food and water that would sustain and ultimately prolong the demonstration. But it was many hours before Swarthmore’s vice president of student affairs Stephanie Ives sent SJP a letter warning the group that its members were risking being placed on interim suspensions that would carry a ban from campus, as well as their losing “all academic privileges.”
By that time, the students had unleashed a barrage of misconduct, shouting slogans through bullhorns, attempting to break into offices that had been locked to keep them out, and pounding the doors of others that refused to admit them access. Meanwhile, SJP collaborators circumvented security’s lockdown of the building to smuggle food inside. Several students then grew impatient and attempted to end the lockdown themselves by raiding the building, and in doing so caused a physical altercation with security, whom they proceeded to pelt with expletives and other imprecations spoken in the style of inner-city vernacular.
“What the f— is your problem!?” a female student, captured in video shared by The Phoenix, can be heard screaming at an official who used his body to block a protester from forcing his way inside. “B—ch! F—ck you! Stop f—ing touching people bruh!”
In a letter to Swarthmore SJP, Ives said that the group’s activities, which it heavily promoted on social media, had drawn the attention of the local Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office.
“Your actions, and the promotion of them on social media, have triggered a range of responses from within and beyond the community, including local and federal law enforcement agencies,” she wrote. “We have already identified several individuals involved in today’s actions. Those individuals, along with others we identify moving forward, will face interim suspension if the occupation does not end by 11 p.m. tonight.”
In a statement later issued to The Phoenix, Swarthmore College said, “The FBI contacted us based on the nature and volume of social media posts by Swarthmore SJP, along with other regional and national SJP and other accounts, calling for people from outside the campus community to come to Swarthmore and participate in the occupation.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post ‘Chaos’: Students for Justice in Palestine Forced to Abandon Building Occupation at Swarthmore College first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Jewish Man Violently Attacked in England, Assailant Reportedly Said He Was ‘Responsible for Gaza War’
A pro-Hamas march in London, United Kingdom, Feb. 17, 2024. Photo: Chrissa Giannakoudi via Reuters Connect
A visibly Jewish man in England was brutally attacked after attending a prayer service, leaving him fearing for his eyesight, in what local police are investigating as a hate crime.
The attack took place on Feb. 3 in Manchester City Center around 1:30 om. As the victim was walking home, he was approached from behind and struck in the face with a hard glass object, shattering his glasses and leaving him covered in blood.
“I thought I could have been blinded in my right eye,” the victim told the Manchester Evening News.
“In the split second before, I gripped my phone tightly in case someone tried to grab it and did not have a chance to protect myself,” he recalled. “I was then hit extremely forcefully with what felt like a bottle around the right side of my face, instantly shattering my glasses and knocking me off balance.”
After being examined by paramedics, the victim said he suffered bruising around his eye and cuts to his upper cheek and side of his face, adding that he still experiences black dots in his vision.
A bystander who witnessed the attack said he heard the attacker shout “murderer” at the victim and accuse him of being “responsible for the war in Gaza.”
“I’m apprehensive walking around and now get nervous anyone could attack me at any time,” the victim said. “I remain very traumatized by what happened.”
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that an investigation was ongoing, but two weeks after the attack, no arrests had been made. Meanwhile, the British charity Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) has offered a £5,000 (around $6,300 US dollars) reward for information about the suspect leading to a conviction.
“This victim’s testimony is horrific. At a time of surging antisemitism, incidents like these are becoming far too common, and those responsible must be held to account,” a spokesperson for CAA said in a statement.
The incident came amid an ongoing surge in antisemitic crimes across the United Kingdom since the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
Last week, the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, released data showing the UK experienced its second worst year for antisemitism in 2024, despite recording an 18 percent drop in antisemitic incidents from the previous year’s all-time high
Specifically, CST 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, a drop from the 4,296 in 2023. These numbers compare to 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, 2,261 in 2021, and 1,684 in 2020.
In Greater Manchester, home to the largest Jewish community outside London, 480 cases were reported last year.
In a joint statement addressing the rise in antisemitic incidents, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police and CST said, “Everyone should feel safe and welcome when visiting our city-region.”
“Hate crimes in Greater Manchester will not be tolerated, and we will always endeavor to take action against those responsible for this type of offence to keep our communities safe,” they added.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists started the war in Gaza when they murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during their invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
Last month, both sides reached a ceasefire and hostage-release deal brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar. Under phase one, Hamas agreed to release 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, in exchange for Israel freeing over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are serving multiple life sentences for terrorism-related offenses.
Talks for a second phase are set to begin in the coming days, focusing on the release of around 60 remaining hostages, about half of whom are believed to be dead, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
The post Jewish Man Violently Attacked in England, Assailant Reportedly Said He Was ‘Responsible for Gaza War’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.