Israel Re-Starts the Bombing of Gaza: Blame Trump

A new, bizarre accusation against President Trump has appeared in the news. One Israeli thinks it’s Trump’s fault that the fighting has re-started:

A former Israeli hostage negotiator who once acted as a channel to Hamas said Israel’s renewed strikes on Gaza show US President Donald Trump’s failure to live up to his promise to end the war there. Trump is ‘doing the opposite,’ Gershon Baskin said. ‘The renewal of the war is a failure of Trump to end the war as he promised,’ Baskin said. ‘Trump could end the war and force the deal that will bring the hostages home and end the war.’

Of course, his allegation is absurd, but many people are pointing fingers at various people out of desperation. The problem is that these latest military attacks do not remedy the situation.

Israel launched the air strikes because they had evidence that Hamas was going to attack Israel, and was regrouping and rearming. Since the ceasefire plan has stalled, Israel offered a new proposal because Hamas did not respond to Israel’s cutting off humanitarian aid; the terrorists have demonstrated over and over again that they have no concern for Palestinian civilians:

The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group’s main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners — a key component of the first phase. Hamas refused the new proposal, accusing Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement.

To make matters worse, Netanyahu must meet an end-of-the-month deadline to pass a budget; he won’t have enough members of the Knesset to pass it without including the hard right party, which Ben-Gvir leads, and Ben-Gvir supports the destruction of Hamas, regardless of the hostage situation. If the budget does not pass, Israel will have to dissolve the government and have early elections, adding more chaos.

Moreover, Israel has refused to institute the second phase of the ceasefire:

Hamas has insisted on sticking to the original terms of the deal, which was supposed to enter its second phase at the beginning of the month. That phase envisioned Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and agreeing to permanently end the war in exchange for the release of the remaining living hostages. While Israel signed on to the deal, Netanyahu has long insisted that Israel will not end the war until Hamas’s governing and military capabilities have been destroyed.

Ultimately, everyone agrees that Hamas must be destroyed, and the hostages must be released: the impossible question is, when and how.

Netanyahu must resume the destruction of Hamas and continue his efforts to find the remaining hostages; he must also give up his hope of continuing in his role of Prime Minister if the remaining hostages are killed. It would be a devastating decision, but the survival of Israel may depend on it.

What do you think Netanyahu should do at this point?