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Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/10/opinions/biden-israel-gaza-hamas-greenblatt/index.html
Hamas' Bet on the World Is Paying Off
(CNN) Jason Greenblatt - Hamas considers it a victory to survive when Israel has vowed to destroy it. Hamas counts on a long-running strategy of Westerners intervening to stop Israel's successful offensives due to humanitarian concerns, which is why Hamas enables Palestinian suffering by using human shields, stealing aid and employing hospitals as military facilities. Hamas then engages in a PR campaign to magnify the criticism of Israel by failing to distinguish between civilians and combatants in casualty reports. Governments and NGOs then scrutinize Israel's responsibility for civilian deaths, despite Hamas being far more to blame since they launch deadly attacks from and store weapons among them. As the Biden administration has ramped up pressure on Israel to make more concessions in negotiations with Hamas, declaring that the U.S. cannot accept anything other than a successful deal, is it a coincidence that Hamas has repeatedly rejected Israel's offers? Israeli diplomatic reporter Nadav Eyal cited Israeli intelligence assessments that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar "thinks that he's winning, and the reason for that is that he's seeing the kind of pressure employed on Israel." Sinwar expects to survive because "someone is going to restrain the IDF." Hamas and its Iranian sponsors are now getting the message that they should never adopt the attitude that leads to peace because the West will never allow Israel to conduct its wars the way any other sovereign would: until its enemies are defeated and no longer pose a threat. Israel must be allowed to demonstrate to those who wish to destroy it that they are fighting a losing battle, or this cycle will only continue, with more innocents lost on both sides. To keep America, Israel, and all of America's other friends and allies in the Middle East safe and secure, and to free the Palestinians in Gaza from the horrific leadership of Hamas, the Biden administration must signal to the world that it unequivocally defends Israel's right to ensure that Hamas will no longer be a threat to Israel and that all the hostages must be released. Anything less will yield only more death, disaster and destruction in the near term and for the foreseeable future. The writer was the White House special envoy to the Middle East from 2017-2019.