Staff Reports
Israel’s bold 2005 withdrawal from Gaza stands as a stark lesson in the perils of appeasing terrorists. In a gesture of goodwill, the Jewish state uprooted over 8,000 settlers and pulled out its military, hoping to pave the way for peace with Palestinians. Instead, Hamas—a ruthless terror group dedicated to Israel’s destruction—seized control in 2007, turning the territory into a fortress of rocket launches, suicide bombings, and underground terror tunnels. This naive experiment proved that vacuums in the Middle East are swiftly filled by jihadists, not democrats, rewarding aggression rather than rewarding restraint.
President Trump’s decisive leadership has now forced a turning point, launching Phase Two of his masterful 20-Point Plan to end the Gaza conflict as of January 2026. The plan establishes a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), overseen by a U.S.-led Board of Peace including top global leaders. Hamas, battered after years of futile rocket barrages, has no choice but to hand over power and disarm, complying with demands to return the last Israeli hostage remains—a heroic soldier named Ran Gvili. This is America First diplomacy at its finest, sidelining the terrorists without endless concessions.
The Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas, stagnant after nearly two decades without real elections, exposes the rot in Palestinian leadership. Abbas clings to power in the West Bank, dodging democratic accountability while Hamas ruled Gaza with an iron fist, executing rivals and starving civilians to fund weapons. Recent promises of the 2026 elections ring hollow amid factional infighting, underscoring why Arabs have historically thrived more under Israeli security than under their own corrupt overlords. True peace demands leaders who choose prosperity over martyrdom, not eternal “resistance.”
Billions in international aid poured into Gaza over the years, yet Hamas diverted cement for terror tunnels and fuel for rockets, building no hospitals or schools while civilians suffered blackouts and shortages. This phase of Trump’s plan prioritizes reconstruction under vetted technocrats, ensuring aid builds homes instead of bunkers for murderers. It’s outrageous that Western taxpayers funded Hamas’s war machine, but now accountability arrives—demilitarization first, development second.
Gaza’s saga vindicates Israel’s restraint and exposes the folly of unilateral retreats. With Hamas dissolving its regime and technocrats stepping in, the cycle of violence may finally break, but only if Israel maintains a firm buffer zone against renewed threats. President Trump’s triumph proves strong U.S. backing for allies like Israel delivers results where weak-kneed diplomacy failed for decades. The message to terrorists worldwide is clear: your time is up.
