Is It a Peace Deal, Or Is It Pause Deal?

“Every penny spent on Israel’s defense is a penny spent on our defense. Hamas and those like them don’t just want to murder Israelis. They want to murder Americans.” —Kurt Schlichter, The Well-Deserved, Utter Humiliation of Palestinian Terrorists & Their Friends.

By Robin Itzler

Editor's Note:  This is a commentary in Robin's weekly newsletter Patriot Neighbors.  Any cartoons are inserted by me.  If you wish to get the full edition, E-mail her at PatriotNeighbors@yahoo.com to get on her list, it's free. RK 

 

There are some things we can predict: the sun will rise in the east, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom will make idiotic statements, and Hamas (Gazans) or other terrorists will try to break the ceasefire once they get back all their murderous thugs.

In the immediate days following President Donald Trump’s historic announcement regarding a Middle East peace plan, the world applauded. Suddenly, the global community saw celebratory dancing in the streets of Israel and Gaza and ignorantly assumed both sides were celebrating peace. Pictured: Israelis in Hostage Square in Jerusalem waiting for hostages to be released. However, in Gaza, they were chanting, “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya Yahood, jaish Muhammad sa yaoud.” That is, “Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return.” It is a call to exterminate the Jewish people.

The Gazans were dancing with joy that 2,000 guilty Palestinians will be returned along with 250+ murderous thugs who tortured, raped and murdered Israelis … in exchange for 20 Israeli hostages. Kidnapping Israelis is the way to go for Hamas (or any Muslim terrorist organization as they continually pop up with new names). This is why we worry that this is more of a pause than a peace plan.

It’s already reported that Hamas has moved thousands of its members out of “uniform” and into civilian clothing to serve in its rebranded “Gaza Security Forces” as they reestablish control in Gaza while Israel Defense Forces (IDF) move out. Time will tell. Remember, these terrorists have a lot of patience and know that President Trump leaves the White House in January 2028.

History might guide us on whether this is a peace or a pause plan. In the late 1930s, with Adolph Hitler ignoring World War I treaties following Germany’s surrender, the world anxiously wanted to avoid another global conflict. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain foolishly went to Berlin and met with Hitler, who signed a document (“Munich Agreement”) stating that Germany would not invade other nations. Chamberlain returned to London on September 30, 1938. and held up the document when he infamously proclaimed, “Peace for our time.” One year later on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland and the world was once again at war.

But we should be hopeful about this peace plan and grateful that our nation has the astounding President Donald Trump in the White House to lead us.

NEVER AGAIN: Exchanging murderers for hostages

Whether or not the 2025 peace deal materializes into a long-term positive change for the Middle East, one thing that must change is Israel’s practice of exchanging terrorists for hostages. Hamas (and all Muslim terrorists) know that kidnapping works. That’s why they do it.

At the very least, Israel could avoid ever again having to exchange convicted murderers for hostages by implementing the death penalty for murder. For example, Yahya Sinwar who was convicted in 1989 on multiple counts of murder and conspiracy, received FOUR life sentences. After spending 22 years in Israeli prisons, he was released in a terrorist for hostage swap.

Sinwar was the mastermind behind the October 7, 2023 Massacre. Israel killed him on October 16, 2024, but they should have killed him in 1989!

Guy Miller, US Army LTC, retired, of North Carolina sends out an informative daily news report that includes his exceptional views on current events. His extensive military background and analysis is always spot on. Miller shared with Patriot Neighbors: “It was always all about the hostages. As long as the Israeli government cared more about the hostages, which Hamas was torturing and murdering, than they did about their own national security, Hamas was guaranteed to win.

As I said at the very beginning, if Israel on October 8 had accepted that the hostages were already dead, as most of them wound up being, they could have prevailed. But Israel surrendered all leverage by consenting to make the hostages the only factor in consideration.

In eight decades of existence surrounded by hostile, murderous neighbors, Israel has never before allowed world opinion to override their national security. But this time they surrendered all control to Hamas. “From this day forward, Israel will always be beholden to public opinion regarding hostages. Israel surrendered all its national sovereignty to Hamas hostage takers. It can never end.”

Gregg Roman writes in RealClearWorld, “Why Israel Must Never Negotiate for Hostages Again” that Israel’s social contract with its citizens must evolve so instead of terrorists knowing they will get a trade for those they kidnap, they will now know that Israel will destroy them. He concludes his article with:

“Israel's enemies have learned that kidnapping works. The only way to unlearn this lesson is through decisive action making hostage-taking suicidal for those who attempt it. History will judge Israel not by how many hostages it recovers through negotiation but by whether it finds the courage to end the hostage crisis permanently. Sometimes the most humanitarian act is refusing to negotiate with those who weaponize humanity itself. Israel's moral responsibility demands nothing less than complete victory over the infrastructure of terror. The social contract must evolve from a promise to trade for captives to a promise to annihilate their captors—only then will the cycle finally break.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother-in-law, Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi, spoke to Arutz Sheva – Israel National News on October 9, several days before hostages were released. “[US] President [Donald] gave us the right solution immediately after taking office – ‘conquer and we’ll start a process of emigration.’ But because of our hostage psychosis, we wanted another ten or twenty hostages freed and lost the chance for a strategic solution.”

Asked if he felt joy at the hostages being released, he said: “There is always joy. I rejoiced when the three soldiers were freed in the Jibril Deal, and I rejoiced when Gilad Shalit returned. But at the time, even back then and even more so today, I knew that with our own hands we were signing the next kidnapping, the next massacre, and the next murders.”

We pray that the agreement President Trump signed with the other Arab nations in Egypt on October 13 will truly be peace for our time.

1. Click here for this article by Robin Itzler that was published on American Thinker.
2. Read Netanyahu’s Brother-In-Law: It’s a Disastrous Deal.