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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/opinion/hamas-gaza-palestinian-protests.html
The Route to Freeing Palestinians
(New York Times) Bret Stephens - Did the "Free Palestine" protesters at Columbia pause for a moment of silence for Odai Al-Rubai, 22, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by Hamas after he joined protests in Gaza last week to demand an end to 18 years of Hamas's violent misrule? For too many who call themselves "pro-Palestinian," Palestinian misery seems to matter only when the blame can be pinned on Israel. A growing number of Palestinians in Gaza recognize that there will be no end to wars with Israel so long as Hamas continues to drag them into those wars. The real route to freeing Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, must begin with the elimination of Hamas as a military force, something that only Israel has the power and the will to accomplish. It isn't enough for Gazans to revolt against Hamas for being the prime instigator and perpetuator of the last 18 months of war and misery. What matters even more is overcoming the mentality of the so-called Resistance. If the core Palestinian demand is not the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel but rather of one in place of Israel, then the conflict is bound to continue.