If you’ve ever read the comments section on a news story about the Israel / Palestine conflict you’ll have spotted a familiar argument.
People will insist that Hamas could end this conflict anytime they wanted to by simply returning any hostages, claiming that the only reason the conflict is still going is because Hamas refuses to come to the negotiating table. In fact, they argue, it’s actually the Palestinian’s own fault they’re being murdered in scores each day!
This has long been nonsense (in fact, Israel has refused multiple offers by Hamas to return hostages). But anyone continuing to make this claim is now being extra-ridiculous, as Israel just launched a strike against the peace team Hamas sent to Qatar to attempt to bring an end to the war.
The strike on Qatar – a prominent U.S. ally in the Middle East – targeted the peace team and killed six people. The negotiation team themselves are said to have survived. The mood in the White House, which was told of the attack only shortly before it took place, is frustration and outright anger with Israel.
Trump instantly took to Truth Social to lambast Netanyahu, saying:
“This was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, it was not a decision made by me. Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals.”
Trump confirmed that as soon as he knew that Israel was about to strike, he told Steve Witkoff to notify Qatar immediately in the hopes of warning the Hamas team, “which he did, however, unfortunately, too late to stop the attack.”
For once, I can sympathize with Trump’s anger
Trump is desperate for the conflict in Gaza to end, if only to get a feather in his cap as “solving” a problem Biden couldn’t. As such, Israel launching a strike against the team sent to negotiate a peace deal is bad enough, but when it’s inside the capital city of a major U.S. ally? No wonder he’s furious:
“I also spoke to the Emir and Prime Minister of Qatar, and thanked them for their support and friendship to our Country. I assured them that such a thing will not happen again on their soil. I have directed Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to finalize the Defense Cooperation Agreement with Qatar.”
It should be fairly clear by now that the very last thing Israel wants is peace. They want to eliminate any Palestinians remaining in Gaza: either by removing them to another country or simply by exterminating them en masse. Then, as multiple Israeli politicians have confirmed, they plan to steal the land for themselves. “Peace” would only complicate that scheme, and so anyone seeking a peaceful end to the conflict must die.
