OPINION:
TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced plans to take over Gaza City and drive out Hamas once and for all — an escalation of a long-running conflict that started on Oct. 7, 2023, when members of the terror group attacked innocent attendees of a music festival and murdered, raped, tortured and abducted hundreds.
And now Netanyahu’s message to Hamas is this: You have until Oct. 7 — two months from now — to evacuate Gaza City.
Better get out while the getting’s good. Hamas is about to learn what happens when political winds shift, and Israel doesn’t have to worry so much about an America that sides with antisemites in the European Union and United Nations, but that instead stands firmly with the Israeli people. The Joe Biden White House may have withheld military aid to Israel; may have talked a big “we’re with you, Israel” game while shouting a louder “we’re with you, poor, innocent Palestinian people” shtick — with a result that drew moral equivalence between the innocent Jewish nation and the violent, savage Hamas terrorists. But this White House, this administration, this President Donald Trump carries a much different message.
“Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says possible takeover of Gaza is a decision ‘only the Israelis can make,’” CBS News wrote in one headline.
His pertinent comments went like this, according to CBS: “It’s not our job to tell them what they should or should not do. Certainly, if they ask for wisdom, counsel, advice, I’m sure the president [Trump] would offer it. But ultimately, it’s the decision that the Israelis and only the Israelis can make,” Huckabee said.
Cue loud cheers.
This is the equivalent of America telling Israel to move forward with speed — that we’re with you — that we’ve got your back — that the U.S., under this administration — will stand by as a loyal friend and not throw wrenches in the plan to oust Hamas.
This is an about-time moment in this Hamas-Israel conflict.
On Oct. 7, 2023, approximately 2,000 members of Hamas broke past border fences and stormed Israel by land and sea and at various community locations while simultaneously launching missiles at cities and towns in the south, and toward Jerusalem. Terrorists were able to advance on to several southern settled communities, where they massacred at will over the course of several hours.
From the Israeli government’s Swords of Iron website: “Families were slaughtered in their beds, women were viciously raped, and innocent civilians were maimed, killed and in some instances beheaded. In addition, civilians were burnt alive, babies were butchered, and hundreds of men and women were viciously gunned down while simply dancing at a music festival. Upon their return to the Gaza Strip, the terrorists abducted everyone they happened upon — with an emphasis on families, women and children.”
Some of the hostages are still being held by Hamas.
And this is the thing: Since that fateful day, Hamas has been turned by antisemitic voices in the EU, the U.N. and the media into the victim — and Israel, the cruel perpetrator. And no doubt the Palestinians in Gaza have since suffered by the Israel Defense Forces’ retaliation. But these are sufferings of their own making.
Hamas is the elected body of the Gazan population.
The Palestinian people chose Hamas — and cheered Hamas, even as Oct. 7 atrocities were brought to light.
This is war.
This is war of Hamas’ making.
And all wars have casualties, some innocent, some not so innocent — and some made to appear innocent by those skilled in the art of propaganda. The New York Times just ran a photo of a Palestinian child described as a poor, innocent, starved victim of Israeli aggression; turns out, this child was a victim of another medical ailment and not being starved by an Israeli blockade on food aid. That’s just the latest in a long-running media-hyped skew on truth of the Oct. 7 atrocity. Hamas, we’re told, wants peace. Hamas, we’re told, is willing to come to the table to sign a peace agreement with Israel. Hamas, we’re told, simply wants to live side by side with Israel in peace.
Well, if Hamas wants peace — why won’t Hamas release the remaining hostages? Truly, the answer is simple.
“Since its creation in December 1987, Hamas has invoked militant interpretations of Islam to spearhead a Sunni extremist movement committed to destroying Israel,” the Wilson Center wrote in October 2023.
There you go. Here you have it.
Now Israel finally has a chance to eradicate the evil called Hamas without having to tread a political high wire. And the nation deserves full support.
Hamas, meanwhile, deserves nothing but international condemnation and destruction.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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