Indeed. Of course.
Excerpts:
How did we get here, where a Jewish democratic state, descended in part from the Holocaust, is engaged in a policy of starvation in a war with Hamas that has become the longest and most deadly war between Israelis and Palestinians in Israel’s history — and shows no sign of ending?
My answer: What makes this war different is that it pits what I believe is the worst, most fanatical and amoral government in Israel’s history against the worst, most fanatical, murderous organization in Palestinian history.
But they are alike not just in the awfulness of their goals — each seeking to wipe out the other to control all the territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. They are also guided by leaders who have consistently prioritized their own political survival and ideological obsessions over the basic well-being of their own people — not to mention the interests of the United States.
You may have noticed that this war has no generally accepted name — like the Six-Day War, the Sinai War or the October War. Well, I personally have always had a name for it. It’s the War of the Worst.
This is the first Israeli-Palestinian war where the worst leaders on both sides are calling all the shots. The moderate Israeli opposition parties and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank have no influence. And that is why I cannot tell you how or when it will end. Because Netanyahu still insists on “total victory” over Hamas, which he will never achieve, and the Hamas leadership still insists on surviving this war in order to still control Gaza the morning after, which it does not deserve.
Let’s go to the videotape: For months Hamas has been fully aware of the acute food and housing shortage in Gaza — shortages it helped trigger by launching a savage attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, without any plan for the morning after other than to kill as many Jews as it could and with no strategy to protect civilians in Gaza from what Hamas knew would be a savage Israeli retaliation. For months now Hamas has also known that if it released its Israeli hostages, agreed that its leadership would leave Gaza and invited an Arab peacekeeping force blessed by the Palestinian Authority to run Gaza instead of Hamas, the suffering of Gazans would stop immediately.
But Hamas refuses to do that. It not only wants to keep control of Gaza after any cease-fire; it also wants the United States to guarantee its safety from a resumption of Israeli attacks if and when it gives up the last Israeli hostages, whom Hamas has stashed in tunnels and elsewhere for more than 21 months. This is a sick, twisted organization that bears huge responsibility for the suffering in Gaza.
But what too many people still have not grasped is just how sick this current Israeli government is. Too many American officials, lawmakers and American Jews keep trying to tell themselves that this is simply another right-wing Israeli government, but just a little more right. Wrong.
As I have argued since my column on Nov. 4, 2022, the morning after this Israeli government was elected, which was titled “The Israel We Knew Is Gone,” this Israeli government is uniquely awful.
This minority strain of thinking has always been there, but it had never been given the power it has today. It has never been allowed to direct Israel’s huge advanced war machine. This is Bibi’s unique contribution. He has not only empowered the worst of the worst in Israel but also simultaneously sought to unshackle them from the rule of law. He has engaged in a nonstop campaign to strip power from Israel’s independent, ethical gatekeepers, like the former heads of the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli Army. As I write, Netanyahu is trying to oust Israel’s high-integrity, independent attorney general, after a two-year campaign to undermine the oversight powers of Israel’s Supreme Court, precisely to do something no Israeli government has ever done: formally annex the West Bank, if not Gaza, too — and push out as many Palestinians as possible — without any legal restraints.
Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, have never understood this. They think everyone is just as transactional as they are — whether it’s Vladimir Putin or Netanyahu — and that deep down everyone wants “peace” first and foremost and not “a piece” of Ukraine or “a piece” of the West Bank or Gaza. That is how Bibi and Putin have, each in their own way, managed to play Trump and Witkoff for fools for so long.
What is an example of that? In January, Israel and Hamas agreed to a three-phase cease-fire deal that involved a hostage exchange and a prisoner swap. But Trump and Witkoff let Netanyahu unilaterally break the cease-fire in March, before the last two phases could be negotiated. Bibi cited Hamas’s refusal to meet Israel’s demand to release more hostages before negotiations would resume — even though Hamas was never obligated to do so in Phase 1 of the U.S.-brokered deal.
It was all to serve Bibi’s political needs. Smotrich and the other extremists effectively told Bibi he had to restart the war or be toppled, and Bibi duped Trump and Witkoff into believing he could free the hostages with harsher military blows on Hamas and more hardship for Gazan civilians, and by confining the population to a small corner of the strip.
It all turned out to be wrong. Hamas was not defeated, and when Israel eventually had to resume supplying food through its distribution organization, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, it was so bungled that countless Gazans were dying each day swarming the Israeli distribution sites.
Hamas, Tibon noted, having seen “that Netanyahu’s blockade and starvation strategy had become a P.R. disaster for Israel, raised its demands in the ongoing hostage negotiations.” The bottom line, he concluded, is this: “Netanyahu dragged Trump and Witkoff into adopting a failed policy — one that returned no living hostages, cost the lives of nearly 50 Israeli soldiers since the war was resumed in March, led to the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians and precipitated a full-blown humanitarian disaster. The consequences of this failure will haunt Israel for years.”
Alas, it will haunt Palestinians as well, because I fear it has improved the chances that Hamas will come out of this war without having to cede power in Gaza. Bibi and Hamas have been tacitly enabling each other’s political survival for decades. It is quite possible that this disastrous war will end with both of them still in power.
If that is the case, say goodbye to any two-state solution and hello to a forever war. Because, to paraphrase the philosopher Immanuel Kant, out of the crooked timber of Bibi and Hamas no straight thing will ever be made.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/opinion/gaza-netanyahu-trump-israel-starvation.html
Replies to: Indeed. Of course.
If Hamas never attacked Israeli civilians, there would be no war.
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Go to the head of the class, Genius. Thanks for connecting the dots for us.
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Was this meant for the author of the OpEd?
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Bingo.
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They would say:If Israel didn't oppress the Gazans, Hamas wouldn't have raped and beheaded innocents
But as the leading producer of oil in the world, we should have the luxury of not giving a damn what happens in the ME.
Just hang around a bit…Tyrone will have AI solve the chicken/egg conundrum for you.
He’s good that way…
All paths eventually lead to "kill the Jews".
Ignore the narrator, this is the best clip of the full podcast I could find.
Link: https://youtu.be/jKAWJYUg6JA?si=fq0h1U_Jwb328COQ
100% No Dispute
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There was never going to be a two-state solution
It's been offered multiple times by Israel and it never goes anywhere.
Israel cannot destroy Hamas, even if the group goes away, the idea and the hate will form into a new group with a new name.
Regarding your mention of the Geneva conventions below, if they are hiding fighters and weapons in schoolhouses and hospitals, as I understand they have, they are no longer protected targets, they are just targets that can be flattened.
Hamas is filled with cowards who hide behind women and children so that they can cry foul about the deaths, knowing that they don't care about the women and children.
The most shocking thing about this entire war is finding out how many people in the US support Hamas, a known terrorist organization who raped women and slaughtered children on October 7th. I could almost give a pass to all the youngsters born after 9/11 who are getting told a bunch of stupid shit in college classes, but for those of you old enough to remember what happened, and still somehow decide to support Hamas in any way, shame on you all.
At this point, the Palestinians will be lucky to get 3 city blocks…
That’s what happens when you have a terrorist organization in power. Sorry
True words.
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Hamas are the worst. End of story, full stop. Bibi though wants peace as little as
they do. When has HE offered a 2 state solution!
All well said. And what I posted earlier this week: both sides are led by assholes.
And the poor innocents on both sides are caught between asshole regimes.
Hamas; obviously assholes. War criminals. Targets civilians.
Netanyahu’s government: assholes. War criminals. Targets civilians.
Should we consider that in asshole vs asshole war, that asshole.Trump is the one calling for peace?
Cease fires and such
Yes. But calling for ethnic cleansing does not help.
Neither does giving the Israelis whatever they want. Which Biden also did, obviously.
Liberalism Rule #24: “Both sides do it”. You are a treasure Chris. This is the newest rule & you
validate it. (Please do not be so concrete as to faile to understand that “both sides are led by assholes uses the spirit of Rule #24…..I mean, comparing Israel’s PM to Hamas terrorist kidnappers and killers…..please).
BaronVonZemo's Rules of Liberalism:
Liberalism Rule #1 - accuse others of that which you are/do.
Liberalism Rule #2 - the rules apply to thee and not me
Liberalism Rule #3 - We know what is best, thus the ends justify the means.
Liberalism Rule #4 - We believe ourselves to be smarter thus, we cannot admit that we are wrong.
i) Admitting mistakes undermines the premise of being smarter, ergo self correction is not possible.
Liberalism Rule #5 - What didn’t work last time, will work next time (see 4 i.)
Liberalism Rule #6 - When we lose, change the rules.
i) Whenever convenient, change the definition to suit our goal.
Liberalism Rule #7 - Appeasement (using other people's money - usually taxpayers) is the best deterrent to conflict.
Liberalism Rule #8 - Totally Differentism - when we do something that we don’t like others doing, it is always “totally different”.
Liberalism Rule #9 - Equity through inequity (any difference must be equalized by pulling down the
unaffected party. Vengeance is preferable).
Liberalism Rule #10 - We support our representative speaking regardless of the truth (in contrast to
conservatives who support the truth regardless of the representative speaking it).
Liberalism Rule #11 - We vote on personality over policy.
Liberalism Rule #12 - Genetics are selective. We believe that sexuality and guilt are genetic, but gender is not. Scientific proof is not required.
Liberalism Rule #13 - Do SOMETHING! When a crisis happens, do SOMETHING! It doesn't have to have to work, but it must: a) make us feel better which is more important than actually solving the crisis, and b) advance the liberal agenda.
Liberalism Rule #14 - "You’ll have to show us a lot more than rock solid, irrefutable evidence”.
Liberalism Rule #15 - There are no universal truths. The truth changes to fit our needs.
Liberalism Rule #16 - The Expert Threshold. If a false narrative has enough “experts” backing it, it becomes truth regardless of evidence to the contrary. “Experts” are defined as those who support the narrative, and they can be conjured if necessary (because of Liberalism Rule #3).
Liberalism Rule #17 - Charity ends at home. It is accomplished through the government with other people’s money.
Liberalism Rule #18 - When failure or bad behavior is completely undeniable, distance yourself from complicity to salve your guilty conscience.
Liberalism Rule #19 - Guns don’t kill people, liberals with guns kill people. Violence comes from the Left.
Liberalism Rule #20 - Only guilty life is precious. Innocence makes us uncomfortable and thus must be eliminated.
Liberalism Rule #21 - "I'm a moderate". We are not liberal, we are "moderates" politically - despite supporting every liberal tenant. This is because we consider ourselves to be the fairest and also because we care too deeply about what others think of us to just admit what we really are (See Rule #22).
Liberalism Rule #22 - “We care too deeply about what others think of us.” (This is why we feel the constant need to virtue signal and try to buy foreign approval with handouts).
Liberalism Rule #23 - Make it about race! "Whenever we are losing an argument, make it about race".
New Rule #24 - “Both sides do it.” Guilt from our bad behavior is best tolerated when diluted to all, and no one can point a finger.
Do you think FDR was an asshole?
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Not if he was Islamocentric in his policies.
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No. But those who always argue with idiotic analogies are.
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Why is Netanyahu an asshole, but FDR not?
You are a political hack who struggles with analogies, just pretending they don't exist.
You don't think internment was assholish behavior to the max?
Whether it was the interment,.dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to things like killing a million Iraqis based on a lie. Is this really unique?
I’m just tired of the whataboutisms.
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The author of the Op-Ed argues that this war is different
How is a person to refute that without bringing up other assholes in other wars?
Sometimes. See Japanese American internment.
That stain will never get washed from him. Nor will Churchill’s starving hundreds of thousands of Bengali’s.
I would like to hear Chris94's answer.
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Whelp, goody, goody. Perhaps he will oblige you,
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I doubt it. He would have to criticize a Dem icon. He knows FDR was worse than Netanyahu is now.
Think about carpet bombing Europe. Think about the fire bombing of Dresden and Tokyo.
Then Truman dropped the atomic bombs. By Chris94's standard (if applied objectively), Truman was a total asshole.
Dropping the atomic bombs saved lives. Would you rather have invaded?
Or starved em out?
Again, I'm wondering if Chris94 will be logically consistent, or a party hack.
You are doing your best to run interference for him, but his silence indicates he is either a party hack or an anti-semite.
I think Netenyahu has done more to avoid civilian casualties than FDR did. Chris probably won't allow himself to address that, though. He just wants to make Hamas morally equivalent to Israel because he is a leftist. Or, he could answer to dispel what is looking like an obvious truth.
Yes, Indeed...TF has been spot on wrt the Middle East throughout his career...as he mentioned in an
earlier piece...the solution is regime change...In Israel...the Palestinian Authority...and Iran. We were making important strides getting Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations supporting Israel in a Two State Solution...but neither Bibi, nor Iran would tolerate it. The task ahead now requires the U.S. to exert pressure on Netanyahu, and that will only begin to happen if Congress flips in 2026. It's going to be a mad race for the next 15 months.
Yes, War should be nice and neat where everyone is well cared for.
Trump should stand aside and you should handle our foreign policy. You are much smarter and would handle it much better.
Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with the Geneva Conventions.
The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols afford significant protections to civilians during armed conflict. Essentially, civilians are to be protected from the dangers of military operations and are not to be the object of attack. Specific protections include prohibitions on attacking civilians, using them to shield military objectives, and employing terror tactics against them. Furthermore, the Conventions prohibit attacks on civilian objects like hospitals, cultural sites, and objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
Protection from Attack:
Civilians are to be protected from the dangers of military operations and should not be the direct object of attack.
Prohibition of Indiscriminate Attacks:
Attacks that do not distinguish between civilians and military targets, or that cause excessive civilian casualties relative to the military advantage gained, are prohibited.
Protection of Civilian Objects:
Certain civilian objects, like hospitals, cultural sites, and objects necessary for the survival of the population (e.g., food, water), are specifically protected and cannot be attacked.
Prohibition of Terror Tactics:
Acts or threats of violence aimed at spreading terror among the civilian population are forbidden.
Special Protections in Occupied Territories:
The Geneva Conventions detail specific protections for civilians in occupied territories, ensuring their basic rights and humane treatment.
Protection of Vulnerable Groups:
Civilians who are sick, wounded, children, or detainees receive specific protections as vulnerable groups.
perhaps you should familiarize yourself with october 7th.
which convention promotes beheading babies, rape, torture, wholesale slaughter, and hostage taking? hamas used all those tools to kick start this ordeal. it’s their m.o. history has proven that if they’re not eliminated, it will be rinse and repeat.
Boom.
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Israeli Times: "For Years Now, Netanyahu Has Propped Up Hamas, Now It's Blown Up In Our Faces"...
Bibi is an ultra-rightest who has done all he could to pour gasoline on the fire. We were making positive steps toward a Two State Solution...but that wasn't what the Zionists wanted.
Link: https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
No question. Hamas is awful and needs to be exterminated.
But Israel has been awful too. And we have armed them to the teeth (both Biden and Trump).
Thank you Lt Calley.
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Uncalled for. Everything und67 said was true.
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67’s post clearly suggests that the suffering and starvation is justified.
The horrible and merciless attacks by Hamas do not make it OK for Israel to let people starve to death.
it most certainly does not infer anything of the kind.
if you read that into it, then those are your thoughts and yours alone.
i do not condone action against a civilian population. ever. my clearly stated objective was that hamas started this and must be eliminated. unfortunately, when the cancer cells are being excised, some good cells get caught up in order to get clear margins because the cancer lives among them. but every cell of the cancer must go, nevertheless, or it will kill the entire body.
do not again put words in my mouth.
This thread addresses the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
You raised October 7th. Why? To remind us that Hamas = evil. Duh.
What is the relevance to the immediate humanitarian crisis?
Would Jesus say, “tough shit! October 7th, bitches!”
october 7th was cited because it is the root cause of the humanitarian crisis.
why do you all insist on defending terrorists?
You think Hamas is irrelevant to this crisis?
Your attempt at condescension and irreverence has failed miserably.
Who here has ever suggested that Hamas is not at the core of crisis?
It doesn't mean that the United States should shrug its shoulders as so many here have done.
"What is the relevance to the immediate humanitarian crisis?"
Your words.
FaFo
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He does not. Your inference is absurd.
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Obviously he thinks the Palestinians deserve everything Israel gives rhem
Even the toddlers.
It’s a shit sandwich no matter how you look at it…
but I have to give the IDF credit for trying to avoid civilian deaths as much as possible. The estimates are 60k total dead of which are 20k Hamas fighters…that’s 40k civilians killed. The population of Gaza is in the millions. If Israel purposely targeted civilians, wouldn’t you think there’d be a lot more killed?
I hate seeing kids die, but the blame is squarely on Hamas. Again…if Israel laid down their arms, they’d be slaughtered. If Hamas laid down their arms, there’d be peace. It’s that simple.
No one should ever have anything good to say about Hamas
Absolute animals.
But there is no way the American military would have acted like the IDF has. In the past, the Israelis have tried hard to minimize civilian suffering - but not this time. This time they slaughtered tens of thousands with reckless disregard.
Disagree regarding your claimed recklessness…
40k civilian deaths are because Hamas blends in with the population and they use human shields. Also, our military has never been in this type of situation where we’re fighting for our country’s very survival. Sorry, Hamas is 100% to blame for this crisis.
Where does he explicitly state that? In your imagination?
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Where does he explicitly state anything different?
You are just being argumentative.
Being argumentative is putting your words in his mouth.
Let the man speak for himself. He doesn’t need you to finish his thoughts.
Perhaps you should realize that the USA is not at War.
Have your staff work on advising Hamas and Israel on the particulars. Advise Palestine that harboring terrorists is not a good idea.
Perhaps I simply recall every other US President playing an active role in Israel Palestine conflict
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The current conflict began under Biden's watch. He was asleep at the wheel of Peace.
Perhaps the actions of other presidents did not achieve long term success.
I'm sure that you and your staff will do better.
Biden failed to resolve the war, in large part because Netanyahu sabotaged any peace efforts.
Biden was all in for Israel following October 7th attack by Hamas. [Bibi was asleep at the wheel in defending Israel's Gaza border]. But, Hamas was the evil perpetrator. The US rightfully offered Israel full support.
But, as Israel went scorched earth against Hamas, the situation in Gaza deteriorated remarkably for the people of Gaza, to include women and children. The US endeavored for months to find a solution. Biden's team was heavily engaged in facilitating negotiations and talks. They didn't get it done.
And Netanyahu was thrilled to see Trump win NOV 2024 election. Bibi knew Trump was easily manipulated.
Trump has been President for 7 months. As I posted over the weekend, where is the US leadership by Trump? Perhaps Trump will surprise us and step to the plate??
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is very real.
You had me at Biden failed.
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