That was quick: from Hamas not releasing the hostages within 72 hours to Netanyahu stopping the war within 72 seconds.
Hamas spat in Trump’s face after he offered them 72 hours to release the hostages as the first part of his 21-point peace deal. Seventy-two hours came and went. Hamas’s Abu Marzuk is openly saying it will take months to locate and free the hostages. After Trump failed to get anywhere with Hamas, he tried his luck with Netanyahu and secured a one-sided Israeli ceasefire just as Israel was gaining momentum. It only took Israel 72 seconds for Bibi to obediently honor Trump’s request.
So much for giving Israel a green light to unleash hell over Gaza if the hostages were not freed in 72 hours. Instead of hell, Trump did the opposite and succeeded in getting Israel to stop the fighting.
Sukkot is a time to step up the war, not to halt the fighting. The time has come to finish off Iran and Hamas, expel our enemies, and disregard world opinion.
Sukkot is the perfect time to destroy Hamas — not only because they carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust on Simchat Torah/Shemini Atzeret, but because Sukkot commemorates showing our faith in G-d and not being frightened. It is a time to take any and all necessary action to survive, placing our trust in G-d and not in Trump.
Temples and sukkahs fall from Heaven only after man first shows faith and makes his best effort to build the Temple with his own hands. Ironically, it is the willingness to take on the elements in the apparently vulnerable sukkah of faith where we are most shielded and protected by the Almighty. Similarly, peace will come when we take all necessary steps to defeat our enemies as prescribed in the Torah and teach them that it is a huge mistake to mess with Israel.
Make no mistake: taking the necessary steps will appear to contradict Trump’s dictates and will anger many Gentiles and Jews alike.
Israel has indeed reached a crossroads — survival and possible increased international isolation versus a futile and suicidal attempt to satisfy world opinion.
Israel must not be frightened to stand alone
At this point it is not only self-destructive but an exercise in futility to attempt to appease the nations. Prostrating ourselves to gain favor in the eyes of the nations does not work and only backfires.
One example: Israel has taken every measure possible — more than any other country at war — not to endanger “innocent” civilians, often unnecessarily risking the lives of Israeli soldiers and civilians. This does not stop a hypocritical world from blaming Israel for alleged genocide and war crimes.
Another example: Israel was exceedingly restrained in dealing with Greta Thunberg’s provocative flotilla attempt to breach the naval blockade. Greta and the other Hamas sympathizers were peacefully arrested and some were swiftly deported. No country would allow the integrity of its borders to be compromised by hundreds of people, especially not by Hamas supporters, and particularly during a time of war. Yet millions have taken to the streets in Italy, Australia, and elsewhere to protest Israel’s treatment of the flotilla participants, who, among other things, were trying to smuggle in drugs.
Trump has less and less reasons to side with Israel.
Trump has his own interests and political calculations. U.S. public opinion has taken a sharp turn against Israel, including among key forces in his own Republican Party. Big money deals in Qatar and Saudi Arabia are far more attractive than anything Israel can offer.
All of Bibi’s sweet-talking does not stand a chance against Qatar’s stake in America or Trump’s personal stake in Qatar. Preparations are reportedly under way to refit a Qatari jumbo jet that is expected to serve as Air Force One for President Donald Trump.
The Boeing aircraft — valued at $400 million — was donated by Qatar as an “unconditional” gift.
As righteous and as wise as Donald Trump might be, "bribery blinds the eyes of even the righteous and perverts the wise", as the Bible teaches (Deuteronomy 16:19; Exodus 23:8).
On May 15, President Donald J. Trump signed a landmark agreement with Qatar to generate economic exchange worth at least $1.2 trillion.
On the same trip to Qatar last May, it was announced that a Qatari development will feature a Trump International Golf Course and Trump Villas, part of the $5.5 billion Simaisma beachside project north of Doha. Led by Qatari Diar, the development is envisioned as a sprawling entertainment district that will include an 18-hole golf course and a “Land of Legends” theme park, a source told Reuters.
Putting Trump’s personal stake in Qatar aside, Israel is becoming an electoral burden. U.S. public opinion has taken a drastic turn for the worse regarding Israel. Recent polls show more Americans now support the Palestinian Arabs than Israel. Trump is politically savvy enough to understand that backing Israel is no longer popular. Even a majority of American Jews believe Israel has carried out war crimes, according to a recent New York Times poll.
It is simple: Israeli security and interests are being sacrificed and compromised on the altar of Trump’s political and financial interests. Trump, furious over Israel’s assassination attempts on Hamas leaders in Qatar, went so far as to promise unprecedented allegiance to Qatar in an Executive Order “Assuring the security of the State of Qatar” — an order that, technically and literally, gives a license of war and a promise of U.S. intervention, if necessary, to fight Israel should Israel again attack Hamas or other forces operating out of Qatar.
Trump literally coerced Bibi into apologizing for the assassination attempt on Hamas leaders in Qatar. In a pathetic moment of degradation for Israel, Trump handed him the phone so he could bow before his Gentile master and apologize to Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani for Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Doha. Qatar has yet to apologize for sponsoring Hamas, for the October 7 massacre, or for hosting Hamas in Doha.
The 21-point plan that Trump has proposed is catastrophic for Israel. Hamas was given 72 hours to release the hostages. The 72 hours came and went, yet no hostages were released. Hamas is using stalling tactics — anything to get Israel to cease fire and halt the momentum of the war.
-Incredibly, Israel was making fantastic gains in Gaza City. Israel had discovered a huge strategic tunnel under al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. The tunnel stretches 1.5 kilometers and was used, among other things, to manufacture rockets and other weapons.
-Nine hundred thousand civilians have already fled Gaza City.
Now, of all times, Trump has ordered Israel to stop its magnificent offensive. Israel agreed and instructed troops not to engage Hamas unless the enemy poses a direct and clear threat. There is nothing more dangerous than remaining static like sitting ducks and allowing Hamas to breathe and rebuild with impunity. This is absolute madness.
The 72-hour ultimatum failed. Yet that did not deter Hamas from demanding that Israel halt fighting. Trump conveyed that message clearly to Israel, demanding that Israel hold its fire. Israel buckled under in 72 seconds — G-d help us. Now Abu Marzuk, a key Hamas representative, says it will take months to find all of the hostages and that Israel will need to retreat first.
So much for Trump’s 72-hour ultimatum. Let us hope that once again we are saved by Hamas’s intransigence and by G-d hardening the hearts of the modern Pharaohs.
We have been at war for two years. We are fighting a multi-front war against Hamas, Hezbollah, the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Yemen, Arabs within Israel’s borders, and the main culprit in Tehran. We have had miraculous successes, thank G-d. Let us hope and pray that Israel moves forward on all fronts without fear of international opinion and without further hesitation — or that Hamas continues to force Israel to continue the war.
This article has not even addressed the clause in the 21-point deal to free Hamas terrorists, which would pose an inherently catastrophic threat to Israel. The horrific Trump deal calls for Israel to release thousands of hardcore terrorists, including 250 of the most heinous murderers — among them the killers of the Fogel family.
Let us not forget that the release of Yahya Sinwar led to the current war and to the deaths of 2,000 Jews, commencing on October 7, Simchat Torah, two years ago. I hope to launch a media/ad campaign (better late than never), “Don’t Free Me,” with the goal of collecting one million Israeli signatures on a petition to the government not to negotiate future releases that would free murderers or surrender land that would endanger the State of Israel and thousands of Jews in future attacks.