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We Can't Let Hamas Kill Peace along with the Peacemakers
(New York Post) Haisam Hassanein - Years ago I was the lone Egyptian-American studying at Tel Aviv University. One year ago when I visited Israel at the invitation of Sharaka, an NGO that promotes peace and normalization among young people in the Middle East, I met Ofir Libstein, Chairman of the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council. Ofir proudly shared his vision for helping Palestinians in neighboring Gaza obtain permits to work in agriculture and in a new industrial zone in his kibbutz, Kfar Aza. "It is good for people-to-people peace," I remembering him saying. Ofir, 50, and his son, Nitzan, 19, were cut down on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists who swarmed his kibbutz. In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack and as Hamas rockets continue to rain down, my Israeli friends - many of whom were peace activists - have abandoned their towns and kibbutzim for safer locations. Others are dead or wounded, lost loved ones or are waiting for Hamas to release family members. We cannot let Hamas kill peace along with the peacemakers. The writer is an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.