In the Washington Post editorial “Biden is right. We must seize this opportunity for peace,” veteran Post editorial author David Ignatius writes about the ceasefire plan that the “Israeli war cabinet, Egypt, Qatar and the Group of Seven countries all endorse.” He proffers that it seems to make sense for Hamas to accept the ceasefire terms because “it’s in the best interest of Palestinian civilians who have suffered so much in this conflict.” Ignatius has been covering the Middle East region for over 40 years. It’s surprising, then, that he knows so little about the Palestinians. The Gaza leadership that they voted in -- Hamas -- doesn’t care about the “best interest” of their people. They care only about what is in the best interest of their ideology -- to destroy Israel. If they cared about their people, they wouldn’t have spent the last 20 or so years building massive underground military fortifications for the express purpose of battling Israel while not taking a millisecond or spending a dime on protective mechanisms for its people when war actually ensued. They have stolen food aid meant for civilians, blocked Palestinians from escaping through humanitarian corridors, and shot at them when they disregarded Hamas’ commands. They shoot from behind, besides, and below Palestinian civilians while wearing civilian clothing -- not something that a group would do if they wanted to act in the “best interest” of its people. There is a better argument that their goal and therefore what they see as in their “best interest” is to put their civilians in harm’s way since they believe that if they can’t defeat Israel militarily -- which they can’t -- they will defeat them in the court of world opinion by reporting a high number of casualties. With that, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry exaggerates the number of Palestinians killed, and the world buys into this sympathy ploy because the other side of the conflict consists of Jews. It is nothing new for world opinion to behave this way when it comes to the Jewish people.  

Does Ignatius really not understand that Hamas had no concern for protecting Palestinian civilians from what would obviously happen the day after Hamas brutally slaughtered 1200 Israelis, wounded thousands, and took hundreds hostage including Americans on October 7th -- that Israel would respond with the intent to defeat Hamas and get their hostages back?  

If Hamas really cared about its civilians, they would have taken the huge amount of foreign aid they have received through the last 20 years - more aid per capita than any country in the world -- and turned Gaza into a Mediterranean Singapore. Instead, their people live in squalor (except the higher-ups in Hamas who live like kings), have antiquated infrastructure and an atrocious economy, and constantly fire missiles at Israel -- which responds, as any other country would.  

Ignatius concludes that “Hamas leaders have a chance to do the right thing for the Palestinian people they claim to be fighting for.” But when has Hamas ever claimed that as their goal? Ignatius continues, “I hope the Palestinian people can prod them” to accept the ceasefire. But the Palestinians overwhelmingly support Hamas’ actions, despite the hell-hole Hamas has created for them. Maybe it’s hard for Ignatius (and most westerners) to understand this mentality. Why argue against this truth? All their actions are consistent with it. Ignatius has been wrong about this conflict for decades. It would be a welcome change if he acknowledged the true aims and goals of the Palestinians and their leadership, rather than maintaining his dream world of what he thinks would be in their “best interest.”  

More importantly, the ceasefire that Israel, America, the other countries and David Ignatius endorse is one that doesn’t leave Hamas in charge. However, who in their right mind thinks Hamas will ever go along with a deal that knocks them out of power? That’s not what medieval death cults do. The sooner world nations (and Ignatius) let this settle in and marinate as the unfortunate truth, the sooner there will be a chance for the region to find a real solution to what has been a conflict lasting over 75 years.  What is compulsory, first, is that Hamas must be militarily defeated.

Dr. Michael Berenhaus is a freelance activist who works to combat anti-Israel bias in the media. He has been widely published in news sources such as the Economist, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

Image: Kuhlmann/Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz