Donald Trump’s administration fully endorsed Israel’s war aims in Gaza over the weekend, while at the same time, the conflict in the Middle East was barely mentioned during discussions among European leaders at the Munich Security Conference.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed the president’s support for Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign during an unannounced visit to Israel just before the marking of 500 days since the October 7th terror attacks—the like of which Hamas has committed to carrying out again and again.
Hamas warned last week that “time is running out” for Israeli hostages still in captivity. Under the existing ceasefire, these are supposed to be released in stages, in return for the freeing of potentially a thousand Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are dangerous terrorists, and for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza. The agreement is looking increasingly unstable, with Trump recently warning that “all hell will break loose” if Hamas fails to release all the remaining hostages and Netanyahu signalling a readiness to return to war.
What is more clear is that more talks are in motion, albeit largely behind the scenes.
Hamas reportedly said over the weekend that it would be willing to hand the Gaza Strip over to the Palestinian Authority. While the terror group added that any of its existing government employees would have to be “reabsorbed into the new administration” or retired with a “guarantee that their salaries will continue to be paid”—in other words, that they would effectively continue to be in control—the fact it made the offer in the first place is a sign of the pressure being placed upon it.
That, again, looks largely to be a result of the ‘Trump effect.’ Indeed, Rubio stressed during his visit that Hamas must not continue as a military or government force.
As long as it stands as a force that can govern or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. It must be eradicated.
Also over the weekend, the European Parliament adopted a motion put forward by left-wing groups calling for sanctions against Israel, again signalling the divide.
The second phase of the ceasefire has yet to be negotiated.
