Here, according to David Weinberg, is what is required to bring Hamas to heel: “What real White House pressure on Hamas would look like – opinion,” by David M. Weinberg, Jerusalem Post, September 14, 2024:
US PRESSURE on direct backers of Hamas to end their sponsorship of the terrorist organization. The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington has outlined a dozen things that the Biden-Harris administration should do immediately to hold Hamas and its allies “fully accountable.”
This includes pressure on Qatar, Turkey, and Lebanon to extradite Hamas leaders for prosecution. Khaled Mashal, for example, lives a life of royal luxury in Qatar, sitting on an estimated $4 billion personal fortune. Why? He is a US “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”! Where is the American “outrage” at this “totally unacceptable” situation?
How about threats to remove Qatar’s status as a major non-NATO ally; to move Al Udeid air base assets; to impose sanctions on Qatari officials, instrumentalities, and assets; to impose sanctions on Qatar’s virulently genocidal (against Israel and the entire West) Al Jazeera media network?…
There are many other American bases in the region that could supplant the use of the Qatari base at Al-Udeid, including in Kuwait and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia would be happy to have an American airbase with pilots and planes protecting the country against the main threat — Iran — to the Saudis. Riyadh could turn over an existing base, or build another strictly for the Americans. Qatar pretends it is doing the Americans a great favor by letting them use the base at Al-Udeid. But the reality is the reverse: American airmen at Al-Udeid give Doha a sense of security. Qatar needs to know that it has to stop supporting Hamas with money and with providing refuge for its leaders, or else the American Air Force will go elsewhere. And the Americans should ban Qatar’s propaganda outlet, the pro-Hamas and antisemitic Al Jazeera, from the United States, shutting down its entire operation — reporters, bureaus, and broadcasting.
Meanwhile, South Africa can be squeezed economically, with tariffs on such goods as iron and steel, platinum, gold, diamonds, for which there are other suppliers readily available, unless it agrees to shut down the terror group’s operatives in the country, and ceases to lead the monstrous campaign against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
A campaign against Hamas should include sanctions not just on Qatar, but on other regional players, including Lebanon and, especially, Turkey, which has also been a strong supporter of the terror group and like Qatar, has provided refuge to some of its leaders. The Americans could sanction individual Turkish and Lebanese officials who are known to collaborate with Hamas. What’s more, the Americans could warn Erdogan that his membership in NATO is not assured, and that he ought to turn over the $4 billion that the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh had deposited in Turkish banks, so that it can be used to pay for humanitarian aid to be shipped into Gaza. On what grounds could Erdogan refuse to turn over money stolen by Hamas that the Americans intend to use for such a worthwhile purpose? Could Erdogan claim that Haniyeh’s heirs are in any sense entitled to that money?
HOW ABOUT intense pressure on Egypt to permanently cut off Hamas supply routes above and below the Egypt-Gaza border, and to open its border for Palestinian refugee relief? The pressure should include threats to withhold a significant amount of US foreign assistance and impose sanctions on Egyptian officials and instrumentalities responsible for the Hamas smuggling operation; the same type of sanctions that Washington is so slap-happy and super-quick to impose on supposed Israeli vigilantes….
Egypt has done a very poor job in preventing weapons from entering Gaza both aboveground and, more importantly, through the tunnels Hamas has built from Egypt to Gaza that snake under the Philadelphi Corridor. Egypt has been receiving the huge sum of $1.3 billion a year from the Americans without, so far, any penalties for its failure to properly interdict the Hamas weapons. Now is the time for the US to withhold aid to Egypt unless Cairo can show that it has dug up all of the Hamas tunnels on Egypt’s side of the border and is serious about cutting off Hamas’ overland routes, both of which have been made possible by Hamas bribing Egyptian officials.
The administration should consider sanctions against the ICC ‘s chief prosecutor, the anti-Israel Karim Khan, QC, who has been accusing Israel of possible “war crimes”and “crimes against humanity” without the slightest evidence. Washington should also urge its allies, Germany and Japan, that happen to be major funders of the ICC, to cut their funding to that institution as long as the ICC persists in its effort to punish Israel
And let’s not forget Professor Kontorovich’s suggestion that the Americans whittle away, dunam by dunam, at Gaza’s territory, depending on how long Hamas continues to hold the Israeli hostages, and how many in the end it returns alive.
Walter Sieruk says
In this above picture of those two treacherous scheming scoundrels. standing there together in closes comradeship. In all fairness, they do make a good sinister match, Therefore they truly , do deserve each other.
This is a mild reminder that the Bible does pose a rhetorical question in Amos 3:3. Which is ” Can two walk together, unless they are agreed ?” [N.K.J.V.]
somehistory says
OT It was reported a few days ago, and a link shared on this site, that the man who was the tech behind the pager explosion in the hands of the terrorists, was missing. Now this
“Norway issues international search request for person linked to exploding pagers”
“OSLO (Reuters) -Norwegian police have issued an international search request for Rinson Jose, a Norwegian-Indian man linked to the sale of pagers to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that exploded last week, they said on Thursday.
Jose, 39, disappeared while on a work trip to the U.S. last week. He is a founder of a Bulgarian company that was reportedly part of the pager supply chain.
“Yesterday, Sept. 25, the Oslo police district received a missing person report in connection with the pager case,” Oslo police said in an email to Reuters.
“A missing persons case has been opened, and we have sent out an international warrant for the person,” it added.
Jose declined to comment on the pagers when reached by phone last Wednesday, Sept. 18, and hung up when asked about the Bulgarian business. He did not return repeated calls and text messages.
Jose’s Norwegian employer, DN Media Group, said he left for a conference in Boston on Sept. 17, and the company has not been able to reach him since Sept. 18. He works at the group’s sales department.
In 2022, Jose founded Sofia-based company Norta Global Ltd, Bulgaria’s corporate registry shows.
Bulgaria has investigated the company’s role in supply of booby-trapped pagers, but has found no evidence that they were made or exported from the country.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/norway-issues-international-search-request-for-person-linked-to-exploding-pagers/ar-AA1rgpJ8?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=4df39eecc2b042998418913f37770190&ei=50
gravenimage says
This about Rinson Jose is chilling, Somehistory–his being missing and about Norway targetng him. When did Norway become openly pro-Jihad terror?
I hope that Jose is safe.
gravenimage says
What is Required to Bring Hamas to Heel
……………………………………
Excellent stuff from David Weinberg–thank you.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
They cannot be brought to heel. They have to be destroyed. Pressure should be put on Qatar to stop recognizing the muslim brotherhood: they’re not gonna eclipse Saudi Arabia as the center for islam. If the muslim brotherhood has no Arab backers, but only the large non-Arab pretenders Iran and Turkey, they’ll lack credibility in this quest. If they’re destroyed in the Arab world, they’ll have an uphill battle in other countries, be it Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, et al
࿗Infidel࿘ says
On some of the measures that Hugh mentioned, I agree that al-Udeid should be shut down and US bases moved. I disagree w/ a few of his recommendations. Saudi Arabia is a non-starter, MbS notwithstanding, b’cos it was US troops there that inspired Osama to declare jihad on America (granted, something he may have done anyway, but the priority would have been much lower). Kuwait is almost like Qatar: while it hasn’t welcomed in the muslim brotherhood nor al Jazeera, they have been far more supportive of dawa groups like Tabhlighi Jamaat, which are banned in Saudi Arabia. I think instead of al-Udeid, the bases should be in the Emirates
Similarly, although Hugh didn’t mention it, NATO’s Incirlik base in Turkey needs to be shut down. If the target of NATO is Russia (something I disagree w/), then they could move those bases to Romania or Poland. If the target is Israel’s adversaries (a more appropriate adversary), they should move it to Israel – preferably in the heart of the Negev. Also, while NATO doesn’t have a mechanism to expel anybody, the US should threaten to leave NATO if Turkey is not somehow removed
On Egypt, the aid needs to be cut off. As it is, Egypt is now a client state of Saudi Arabia, and if the US (assuming Trump is POTUS here) fixes its relations w/ the Saudis that Biden had damaged, then the US can indirectly influence Egypt via the Saudis. On the domestic front, we need to cut off the bulk of our aid to everybody, just providing the necessary military aid to Israel, but that’s it!
On the UN, I hope that Trump does this time what he didn’t do the last time: pull the US out of the UN, expel them from midtown Manhattan and make it clear that any ICC operations are illegal on US soil. Start an exodus from the UN, so that it resembles SCO or BRICS plus EU at the end of the day
OLD GUY says
Major problem in Washington D.C. was too much DIRTY MONEY and LAWYERS. These foreign countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Russia, China, Venezuela and many more have flood Washington with CASH to purchase favors. The LAWYERS have made this possible through word games, loop holes and every other way to make it legal to accept bribes.
Gourdhead says
“What is Required to Bring Hamas to Heel”? A few billion rounds of 7.62×51 and operators proficient in their use.