Lets get down to the internal political nitty gritty…..
Internal Hamas and Israeli politics leave the hostages, POW’s and resident of Gaza out in the Cold?….
Does US President have the nerve to intercede and wrestle a ceasefire or even a settlement?
No ONE Else has the juice to do this accomplish this….
One of the major paradoxes in the ongoing war in Gaza is that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his arch-enemy, the head of Hamas in the territory, Yahya Sinwar, both have an interest in allowing the fighting to continue, as they fear the political reckoning that will come once the violence ends.
For Mr Netanyahu, the challenges are clear. His government, and the army and intelligence services under its authority, were poorly prepared for the Hamas operation of October 7, 2023, despite warning signs, and despite the insistence of military officials that the national rift over a controversial constitutional amendment sought by the Prime Minister was making Israel unsafe.
Since then, Mr Netanyahu’s priority has been to guarantee his political survival. That’s why he has bowed to the demands of extremist ministers in his cabinet, while resisting any long-lasting ceasefire agreement that might detract from securing what he regards as a complete victory in Gaza. Such a victory may be the only thing that saves him.
But what about Mr Sinwar? As time passes, it is becoming increasingly plausible to assume that what happened on October 7 could have been power play by the leader in Gaza, in collaboration with Mohammed Deif, the head of the Ezzeddine Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, to impose himself as leader of the organisation.
What may have spurred this is Iran’s and Hezbollah’s formulation of the so-called Unity of the Arenas strategy, which sought to co-ordinate the responses of Iran’s allies throughout the Middle East to Israeli and American actions. Such a strategy, by transforming Gaza into the Palestinian centrepiece of Iran’s regional vision, may have encouraged Mr Sinwar to push himself forward as Hamas’s natural chief.
Many telltale signs suggest this interpretation may be correct. While Iran and Hezbollah certainly helped Hamas train for the October 7 operation, it is unclear whether they knew of its timing, or approved of it. A Reuters story in November, citing three Iranian officials, reported that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, told Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh in early November: “You gave us no warning of your October 7 attack on Israel and we will not enter the war on your behalf.”
But even the dynamics of negotiations, amid reports that Mr Sinwar is taking decisions without consulting the Hamas leadership in exile, suggest he is pursuing an independent agenda. Moreover, Hezbollah has carefully avoided any major escalation with Israel, which presumably would not have been the case had the October 7 attack been the start of a co-ordinated offensive by pro-Iran non-state actors.
It is also improbable that Mr Sinwar anticipated the operational success of the October 7 attack, as the disarray in the Israeli military was entirely unexpected. Perhaps the Hamas leader in Gaza envisaged a confrontation, one in which Israel would ultimately prevail, but which would win him a moral victory and more influence to set Hamas’s goals, and ultimately more latitude to influence Palestinian directions in general….
The US IS the sole Major supplier of Military hardware to Israel, which IS a country….
The Early: Netanyahu responded by saying, “If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone.” What does that mean?
Munayyer: In some ways, it’s a little bit ridiculous because the Israeli military is already sitting on a massive cache of American arms that they can use and will continue to use in Gaza and against Palestinians. The reality is Israel cannot do this alone. They simply can’t. And if Joe Biden really wants to bring this war to an end, I think he could have done that months ago with a determined phone call. But I don’t think he’s there yet. And I think Netanyahu knows that….
President Biden is NOT doing well with Arab Americans….
He is ok with Jewish Americans….
By and large, prominent Muslim and Arab Americans have now concluded that they are irrevocably at odds with the Biden administration over its foreign policy, according to interviews with more than a dozen people involved in the talks. And many of them say they are tired of hearing that they should vote for Mr. Biden simply because former President Donald J. Trump would be worse.
“I have told them frankly: ‘Don’t waste your time anymore unless you have something substantial. This is a waste of time,’” Osama Siblani, the publisher of The Arab American News, an influential newspaper in Dearborn, said of White House officials.
The inability to maintain useful lines of communication with groups that represent a vocal, if small, bloc of Democratic voters could pose a significant problem for Mr. Biden’s re-election, given that the contest is likely to be determined by narrow margins in a few battleground states. The protest effort against Mr. Biden garnered double-digit support in some states during the Democratic primaries, although Biden aides believe that voters will ultimately see Mr. Trump as the bigger threat, and that issues like abortion, democracy and the economy will take precedence over Gaza.
Mr. Biden has ensured that the White House, rather than his re-election campaign, handles outreach to Arab and Muslim communities angry about the war in Gaza, since their dispute centers on policy rather than electoral politics. While the White House has designated an official, Mazen Basrawi, as its “liaison to American Muslim communities,” no one on Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign has a similar responsibility….