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Stop Hamas from Derailing the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Michael Singh - The reason a ceasefire took hold in Gaza in October 2025 had mostly to do with how the parties to the conflict assessed their interests at the time. For each party, the benefit of continuing to fight increasingly seemed outweighed by the value of stopping. Israel had already achieved much of what was possible militarily. Hamas had been decimated by Israel and faced the prospect of even fiercer attacks and dwindling stockpiles. And Gulf Arab states finally had the war come home when Iran - and then Israel - attacked Qatar. President Trump deserves significant credit for transforming an opportunity into an achievement. He sweetened the ceasefire deal for both parties, at least cosmetically. Trump's decision to announce the ceasefire before the parties had actually agreed to it put further pressure on them to acquiesce. This does not mean that Israel and Hamas will find it in their interest to implement the plan's remaining points. The plan's fatal flaw is that it elides the problem of Hamas. It is Hamas and its patrons that have prevented a two-state solution and fatally undermined both sides' belief in it. Hamas has two chief foes, the foremost is Israel, with which it has no interest even in the type of cold peace that has characterized Israel's relations with Egypt and Jordan. Hamas's other foe are those Palestinians who might dare to choose peace and normalcy over extremism and violence. Hamas's strength preoccupies both Israel and reasonable Palestinians, raising the specter that any Palestinian state would immediately be turned into a platform for attacks on Israel and perhaps others. Hamas likely views the past two years of war as a success despite the awful price paid by Palestinians. The group elevated its own international political profile and has earned multiple meetings with U.S. officials, while marginalizing the Palestinian Authority and other more moderate Palestinians. There is no reason Hamas would want to cede what it undoubtedly perceives as gains. The U.S., Israel, and their partners must contend with two stark realities. First, Hamas enjoys significant support from Palestinians, especially in the West Bank, many of whom see it as preferable to the corruption of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Second, there is no party prepared to take on Hamas and disarm or defeat it by force other than Israelis and Palestinians themselves. The writer is Managing Director at The Washington Institute.