|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22067/terrorists-threaten-international-stabilization-force
Hamas Threatens to Target Gaza International Stabilization Force
(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other Palestinian terror groups have rejected UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted on November 17, which welcomes the establishment of a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza. Hamas claims it agreed only to the first phase of Trump's plan, which calls for an end to the war and the release of all the hostages - alive and deceased - within 72 hours. That was on Oct. 9; now, weeks have passed and the remains of three hostages are still being held. Recently, the terror group's leaders said that they never agreed to the remaining phases of the plan, which require the armed groups to lay down their weapons and accept the deployment of an international force, as well as the establishment of a temporary international governing body. By rejecting Resolution 2803, the Palestinian terror groups are making it clear that they have no intention of disarming or allowing Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to play any role in the governance of Gaza. The only reason the terror groups agreed to the first phase of Trump's plan was so that the war would end and they could maintain their rule over Gaza. Fayez Abu Shamala, a pro-Hamas Gaza academic, noted on Nov. 18 an intention to target members of the international force: "The Palestinian resistance fighters in Gaza will deal with the American stabilization force just as the Afghan mujahideen dealt with the U.S. forces in 2001, and just as the Iraqi insurgents dealt with the invading American forces in 2003, and just as the resistance dealt with the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon in 1984. The stabilization force will be targeted by the [Palestinian] insurgents." Even if the international troops sent to Gaza are granted a clear mandate to use force to disarm the terror groups and dismantle their military infrastructure, not one of them will use it. No one wants to get shot at, especially when, as the world has seen for years with UN forces in Lebanon, it is so much easier to look the other way, or even be rewarded for helping a terror group reconstruct its power. The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.