It has been almost 50 years since the miracle Entebbe rescue mission.  It has been a bit over 50 years since the 1972 Munich massacres.

Israel’s policy for many years was simple: we do not negotiate with terrorists.

The Shalit deal in 2006 broke that mold.  This when Gilad Shalit was traded for over 1,000 Palestinian terrorists.  Many of these terrorists went on to commit other anti-Israel acts of terror.  I do not have the number of acts that they facilitated, but it is no small number.

Israel’s enemies have changed, and so has Israel.  Hamas is much better funded than even 20 years ago.  The Iranians and Qatar have provided Hamas with more advanced weaponry and funds to hire and train fighters.  With Gaza as the world’s largest bankrupt welfare state, Hamas provides the income to young people and families to survive.  This must end.

The cruelty and depravity of Hamas need not be recited here.  They are the worst of the worst, and, in my humble opinion, the policy of total destruction of the line fighters and leaders is the only path for Israel.  The Munich solution (which created a lot of problems for Israel) is the only solution.  Now Israel needs to cripple the money highway that funds Hamas.  This is a political problem and, I admit, a difficult one.

But a fifth column has developed in Israel that wants a deal with Hamas at any price.  The families of the hostages and the leftist unions have organized a protest machine that threatens to bring down the wartime government.  They want a Shalit deal, but even worse.  Besides releasing (let’s guess) 2,000 committed terrorists, they want Bibi to give the Philadelphi Corridor back to the Gazan/Hamasniks so they can keep the rockets and munitions moving through the tunnels from Egypt.  This is insanity.

To survive this horror, Israel must stand firm.  Some terrorists you might be able to negotiate with, but these are the worst of the worst.  To blame Bibi for the lack of a hostage agreement is like blaming Trump for the abortive Afghanistan withdrawal.  The actions of Hamas murdering these innocent hostages shows the depravity of these killers.  Israel’s only defense is to kill each and every Hamas soldier and every leader, wherever they reside in this world.  It may be tragic for the families of the roughly 100 hostages to “give up” on them, but the downside of giving in to Hamas will result in a much worse outcome for Israel.

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