Unless Hamas thinks it knows something nobody else does, it seems to continue picking the losing side... you'd think after the last 2.5 years they would wisen up a bit and choose to back Qatar (Iran has shot missiles and drones at Qatar since the war began), if nothing else, who hosts and funds them, while seeing Iran  being decimated. But no, they choose Iran in a fight that may end Iran as it has been known for the last 47 or so years and will at best likely no longer be able to back Hamas, angering their hosts and currently biggest benefactors.

Qatar let Hamas leadership continue to function and operate on its soil after and despite the October 7th attack and massacre, after and despite the decimation it brought upon Gaza, after and despite the decimation it caused all around the Middle East... but now that they did not condemn the Iranian attack on Qatar (which was not even successful) they have crossed the line and deserve to finally be expelled...

Truth is this announcement they made last night confused me. Back in November of 2024 Qatar also announced they would expel Hamas leadership. The reasons had something to do with refusing a ceasefire agreement, though similarly, that was far from the worst thing they had done so I am not sure of everything why that was the catalyst for being expelled... That being said, if they were already expelled in 2024, how is Qatar expeling them again now in March 2026?

I tried to do a little bit of research about this expeling of Hamas leadership and did not really find much information. We knew then that the intention was for Hamas leadership to relocate to Turkey. There were reports that they actually relocated to Turkey and it was not just an intention. 

I cannot seem to find any reports after November of 2024 that say anything about them leaving Turkey and returning to Qatar, so I am wondering when this happened, and what it means to expel Hamas leadership after they were already expelled. Did they ever really leave Qatar? Will they really expel Hamas now or will it be done the way it was done in 2024 with a wink and a nod?

Basically, Qatar saying they will expel Hamas is almost meaningless. Let us know when you actually expel them. And, even if Qatar does expel them, will Qatar contineu to fund them or will the funding also be cut off? If Hamas loses Iran as a sugar daddy because of this war and also loses Qatar, that would be massive. 

this situation is slightly different in that Hamas broke the agreement so quickly it makes you wonder why they gave bac all the hostages so quickly leaving themselves with little to no leverage. Thank God they did, but being prepared to break the deal so fast makes no sense after giving up the living hostages. 

When negotiating a deal, both sides have to be incentivized to agree to it - each side has to feel like it is gaining something, getting what it needs, to be able to agree.

President Trump announced a deal on the way and Israel went and negotiated with Trump to make sure certain clauses and terms would be included so Israel could live with it. PM Netanyahu has said he accepts it because Israel's concerns are taken care of in this arrangement and can live with Hamas being exiled or whatever specifics arent exactly what Israel wanted. Fair enough.

And now we wait for Hamas to "study the proposal" and return with a response.

What in this deal, or in any deal, is included that would make Hamas agree to it and feel they got something they want and need? 

From a negotiations perspective why should or would Hamas accept this deal, or any deal Israel agrees to? Any deal Israel agrees to basically does away with Hamas. Why would they ever agree to that? What has any of these deals offered Hamas as incentive to agree? All these deals have been win-lose from Hamas perspective. Technically it is a good deal (maybe) for the people of Gaza but Hamas doesn't care about that - what is there that would encourage Hamas to agree to this and that they can see as being beneficial to them?

Offering a deal that has no chance of being accepted by the other side because it offers them nothing beneficial is not really a solution. Maybe just saying we won't kill them all but will let them leave is enough for them, though we know that so far that has not been enough.

Please explain. I get why this is a good deal from our side, but why do we think would Hamas ever agree to that? Maybe it is enough that Qatar might pressure them to. Maybe not

Meaning, an Israeli I want us to win and not Hamas and come out of this on top. But if we are offering them a deal, what's the point if we are not offering them something they can point to as a win for them? They simply wont accept it.

I dont know about all that. The apology definitely does not bother me. That is diplomacy. Netanyahu is beholden to President Trump, Israel's last supporter, he has to do what Trump wants, and that is what Trump needs to have any chance of getting this deal underway. The apology does not bother me. This is a small price to pay to have any chance at all to get the deal underway.

Netanyahu tried to convince the Israeli people the operation in Qatar was not a failure saying Hamas now knows they can't hide and are not safe anywhere. And he said explicitly that he would strike again if and when the opportunity presents itself. I think today's apology and commitment to not attack again contravenes that.

I am good with Netanyahu making this deal. Israel is strong and can handle and deal with any and all of the points that will be finalized and agreed upon. I have thought this all along with other deals on the table at other times and think it now. Those attacking it from the Left are somewhat hypocritical, those attacking it from the Right are not hypocritical but those on the Right making and supporting the deal that is similar in many aspects to the deals they refused to consider all along for ending the war are hypocritical too. For many on the Left, whatever Bibi says is bad even if they supported it all along and it matches their own agenda. For many on the Right whatever Bibi says is great even if just yesterday they criticized the very thought of it and it was supposedly the polar opposite of their agenda. 

For those saying it will allow Hamas to perpetrate another October 7, that means they are planning to abandon Israel's borders again and leave them defenseless. Israel is strong enough to protect its borders if it wants to (of course with God's help). We are only at risk of another October 7 if we go back to the old policies of letting Hamas do whatever it wants in exchange for some sense of quiet. Make the deal that is reasonable, end this too-long-war and get back the remaining hostages,, and rehab the country.

So Qatar is not just hosting Hamas but also representing Hamas now? What does that say about Qatar?

And, where have they been all along? Why have they not made Hamas accept deals until now? Why has pressure not been exerted on Qatar previously to bring any proposed deals to agreement?

Why am I happy? 

I am happy because it is about time - after nearly two years of accepting deals on the terms set by Hamas, accepting many of the demands put forth by Hamas, finally Israel is being proactive and trying to set the tone and terms of the deal.

Will the Israeli team stick to it and keep the demands for a full deal (end the war, return all the hostages) and will Israel capitulate and agree to a smaller partial deal? This remains to be seen, but for now I am happy Israel did not accept the first Hamas response and is standing firm on its demand. 

I am not even talking about the specific terms of the deal on the table and of the Hamas offer. I am just saying I am happy Israel now isnt just accepting whatever crumbs Hamas offers and is instead finally being proactive about the terms of a deal.

From the article, this seems like the key part to me:

A week or so ago French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would officially recognize a Palestinian State.

Consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine.

I will make this solemn announcement before the United Nations General Assembly this coming September.… pic.twitter.com/VTSVGVH41I

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 24, 2025

In the days since I have heard a lot of talk about this announcement (and about the announcements of other countries in the wake of France's announcement)... those who praised it did not explain how it would work and how it is not a price to Hamas for its terror and refusal to further ceasefire deals, and those who oppose it have asked some good questions and made some good points, but there are a couple aspects of this I simply have not heard discussed and I continue to wonder about.

Specifically in the paragraph where President Macron details:

 
What would the borders of this State of Palestine be? Obviously it wont be agreed upon borders, so what will the official borders be?

Who will be the authority of this Palestinian State? The Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas? Hamas? Other? Will any of them recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland? And what if they dont?

This seems like a less than half baked idea with no actual plan. Not only does it incentivize further terror, it has some nice ideas with no consequences for lack of follow through. 

Everyone says how PM Benjamin Netanyahu is the worlds leading statesman, with nobody having the diplomatic capabilities that he has, definitely not in Israel but also on the world stage. Yet through the rubble and mud of Gaza, justified as it is, Netanyahu has succeeded in turning just about the entire world against us. He still has some of America (and fewer every day) and Argentina behind him, but not much else.

One of Netanyahu's main life goals was to prevent a Palestinian State from being formed, Bar Ilan speech notwithstanding. He has worked very hard over the past 3 decades to prevent it, including moves like building up Hamas to prevent the PA from having too strong of a leadership position among the Palestinians (this strategy eventually turned on him when Hamas became a group of powerful monsters). I find it ironic that Netanyahu himself is going to be responsible for the world recognition of the Palestinian State for running this war with no real consistent strategy or goals and getting mired down into a deteriorating situation with partners pushing him to continue seemingly endlessly. The only goals the world hears about are the goals stated by his partners Smotritch and Ben Gvir (and their ministers) to clean out Gaza, to resettle Jewish communities in Gaza, to stop humanitarian aid, and the like, and the world considers that to be ethnic cleansing and genocidal. And because of all that more and more countries, important ones, are saying they are going to recognize a Palestinian State in the very near future. 

Some of you are not going to like this and will call me a Leftist, but this is the current reality, like it or not.

Thank you Prime Minister. Good job.

That being said, the one thing I wonder about, before the starvation campaign as well but more so now with the starvation campaign, is where are these brilliant marketers and public relations people in Gaza and in Hamas coming out with the fake images and the powerful messaging, immediately capturing the hearts and minds of almost the entire world.

Israel has destroyed Gaza. Israel has killed much of the Hamas senior leadership in Gaza. Israel has killed out much of the command structure of the Hamas military wing. Who out there in Gaza is the brilliant marketer, or on the brilliant marketing PR team, that comes out with these messages and campaigns, that generates and publicizes the fake Pallywood videos and images? Who are they and where are they hiding? This terrorist organization has people who know how to create these campaigns and bring nearly the entire world to their side? Why has Israel not yet taken out these brilliant marketing agents of Hamas? 

Obviously we all know Israel has not invested an agora in marketing and public relations. the Israeli government has let that fall by the wayside. The few people they brought in they eventually fired. Israel relies mostly on several volunteer activists - they dont really rely on them they just benefit from their freelance work. They dont rely on them because the Israeli government seems to not care about that at all. Was there a counter campaign against the starvation campaign? I think PM Netanyahu made one statement about the lies, well after it was too late. Did Israel do anything to stave it off, to show it to be incorrect?

Maybe if Israel would allow independent international journalists in to Gaza to report on the war they would be putting out the truthful images and comment on whether or not there is actually real starvation and hunger and it would not just be our word against theirs.. 

But the main point of this is where is the Hamas Creative Agency with its brilliant marketers and PR people, and why has Israel not disabled them already a long time ago? How do they continue to function "on a dime" while the rest of Gaza and Hamas continues to be destroyed and dismantled increasingly every day?

  -- Defense Minister Yisrael Katz

we have heard this threat of the gates of hell opening many times. Has this become a version of the Haredi parties threat to topple the government if a draft law is not passed by date x?

And considering what Gaza looks like, I wonder what it will look like once the gates of hell open on it!

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While we need to get the mission done and they should do what it takes for that to happen, I am wondering if the success in Iran can have an effect on Gaza. 

With Iran out of the picture, assuming we can successfully neutralize the threat from Iran to the fullest capacity, and especially if the regime collapses, as is thought (and as some seem to expect) can very well happen, will Hamas feel isolated, with one of their 2 main sponsors gone? Will they feel pressured to end it, to give up and surrender?

I hope the Israeli leadership is telling Steve Witkoff to prepare a new plan by which we do not talk about 10 hostages for x months and then another 5, etc. Rather with the success of the Iran mission behind us, we should be telling Hamas to finish it now, we will only take everyone for an end of the war with surrender (and however the banishment of Hamas is supposed to happen. And at the same time President Trump should be pressuring Qatar to officially stop supporting Hamas.

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no, it is not another Hamas invasion. According to the reports, it is the production set of the hit Israeli tv show Fauda filing for the upcoming season..

I hope they don't cause lots of people to relive the trauma of October 7 showing similar things on the tv screen.... I wonder if it is too soon for that, and I just hope they know what they are doing...

Golan said, "Israel is on the path to becoming a pariah state among the nations – like the South Africa of old – if it does not return to behaving like a sane country. A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations.”

Golan never said anything about the IDF and didnt accuse them of killing babies, but was in context talking about the government and what they are trying to do. After his statement created an uproar with everyone upset at him accusing the IDF of killing babies as a hobby and blaming him for antisemitism around the world, Golan held a press conference in which he clarified his statement stressing he is speaking against the government and not against the IDF.

Why is he speaking against the government like this? Because Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotritch, both senior Cabinet ministers, have been talking about annihilating Gaza, wiping it out, killing all the residents, etc. Minister Wasserlauf recently said again that an atom bomb should be dropped on Gaza. Moshe Feiglin, a former Likudnik and one who aspires to make a grand return, said explicitly we have to kill all the babies in Gaza. Other MKs in the government coalition have been making similar statements, and right wing reporters who hold influence in the government have as well.

I get they are attacking Golan because he is an easy target and an easy deflection from their own issues. Just like I wouldn't accuse someone who reported a crime of making a chilul hashem (I am thinking of an accusation commonly made against those who report sexual abuse crimes and the like) but the perpetrator of the crime is the one who made the chilul hashem, so Golan isnt guilty of claiming the government or IDF is killing babies, but the ministers calling for it are.

So why was Golan acting irresponsibly? 

Yair Golan holds an important position. His star is rising in the face of a weak Opposition. He has been raising the Labor and Meretz parties (jointly making up what is now known as the Democratim) from about 4 seats to polling at around 15, and what could be a force in a future Knesset or even government. He himself is also a former Deputy Chief of Staff and a hero for his actions on October 7 going south and saving lives, making his voice an important one that carries weight. 

So what was irresponsible? He should have chosen his words better. He should have spoken clearly and unequivocally, if he felt it was necessary to speak up, without leaving room for misinterpretation. There should have been no need for calling a press conference to clarify what he said - he should have said something like that clearly in the first place. 

If you dont think Israel should wipe out everyone in Gaza including babies, you should be upset at the members of the government who continue to campaign for that. And if you agree with Ministers Smotritch and Ben Gvir and with the others who have been speaking similarly, why are you upset at Golan for saying that this is what the government seems to want to do?

Golan spoke irresponsibly but not incorrectly

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