Brendan O’Neill is a British journalist and chief political writer for Spiked, and one of the few journalists in the UK who consistently defends the embattled Jewish state from those who are full of anti-Israel animus. He has now asked aloud whether this Israel-Hamas deal is good for Israel, and answered, in sober and more-in-sorrow fashion, “probably not.” More on O’Neill’s view of the deal can be found here: “Is this peace or appeasement?,” by Brendan O’Neill, Spiked, January 16, 2025:
Here’s a pretty good rule for international affairs: if a deal pleases neo-fascists, it’s probably a bad deal. If an agreement gets an army of anti-Semites dancing in the streets, it’s likely a poor agreement. That was my first thought upon seeing the Jew-killers of Hamas emerge from their tunnels in Gaza last night to celebrate the ceasefire deal struck with Israel: if they like it, then those of us who side with civilisation over the regressive tyranny of such merciless Islamists probably will not.
Of course there’s a thinness to Hamas’s bravado. Its crowing disguises the profound losses it has suffered in this war it started with its pogrom of 7 October 2023. Thousands of its militants are dead. Its leaders are too. Its allies in Hezbollah have been pummelled into insignificance. All Hamas has to show for its fascistic onslaught against the Jewish nation a year-and-a-half ago is the depletion of its racist army and the ruination of vast swathes of Gaza.
And yet its instinct to laud the deal is not wholly wrong. For it does seem to benefit Israel’s foes more than Israel. The Associated Press has seen a draft. It will be enacted in three phases. In the first phase, which will last for 42 days, hostilities will cease and Hamas will release just 33 of the 94 hostages it still holds. In return, Israel will set free around a thousand Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds of terrorists. As AP says, Israel is required to release ‘30 Palestinian prisoners for each civilian hostage and 50 for each female soldier’. Anyone who thinks it is a fair deal to swap 30 detainees, many of whom will be terrorists, for one child stolen from his home almost 470 days ago is in urgent need of a moral compass.
Israel will also commit to removing its troops from ‘populated areas’ and staying on the ‘edges of the Gaza Strip’. It is in those populated areas, of course, that Hamas militants are gathered. The overnight withdrawal of the opposing army will benefit them enormously. In Phase 2, which will also last 42 days, Hamas will release the remaining hostages in return for a ‘yet to be negotiated number of Palestinian prisoners’ and the IDF will initiate a ‘full withdrawal’ from Gaza. In Phase 3, the final act of the deal will take place: the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages will be returned to their grieving families.
We have to be honest: for those of us who support the Jewish nation against the medieval militants that wish to destroy it, this is a bad deal. It is hard to see it as anything other than a boon for Hamas and a blow to Israel. Over the next month, Israel will secure the return of 33 hostages, but Hamas will secure immeasurably more from the deal. Alongside the release of dangerous prisoners, Hamas will watch the IDF withdraw from Gaza’s fighting zones. It will win the breathing space to regroup, rearm and refortify after 15 months of war. Is this peace or appeasement?
Tony says
No money or funding should be given to any Muslim organization. Islam is a MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. More specifically, Islam is a Muslim Terrorist Ideology and Criminal Organization of discrimination, segregation, supremacy, genocide, polygamy, deceit, hatred, incitement, sedition, rape, terrorism, and violence against all Non-Muslims as taught in the Quran. Basically, Islam is a Terrorist Criminal Enterprise. Thus, the Truth about Islam, its terrorism, its WAR, its discrimination, and its violence against all Non-Muslims must be taught and broadcast to the general public to prohibit Islam, its Mosques, and its Schools. Furthermore, there is NO EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW in Islam or in Islamic Law.
Non-Muslims CANNOT have peace with Islam and its Muslims because Islam and its murderous god, Allah, demand a continuous, Muslim war against unbelievers where Non-Muslims are CRIMINALS under Islam as Allah in Qur’an 8:39 says, “And engage in war with them[Non-Muslims] until there will not be sedition and the religion will be completely to Allah…” HENCE, NON-MUSLIMS MUST MAKE ISLAM, ITS MOSQUES, ITS SCHOOLS, ITS ORGANIZATIONS, ETC. ILLEGAL UNDER THE LAW. Similarly, Islam and its many Organizations must be identified and declared to be a MUSLIM TERRORIST ORGANIZATION for their funding, teaching, and support of terrorism, violence, and discrimination against Non-Muslims.
Allah in Islam demands SURRENDER which means ‘to Surrender, whether voluntarily or not, by becoming a Muslim’ while Submission, ‘to Submit’, is a voluntary act to follow the authority or control of another. Allah in Quran 49:14 says, “’The Bedouins said, ‘We believed.’ Say,’You did not believe. But say, ‘We surrender (became Muslim as a result of fear).’ And the faith has not entered your hearts. And if you obey Allah and his messenger, he will not decrease anything from your works. Surely Allah is forgiving, merciful.’”
Islam promotes a terroristic, Muslim war against unbelievers when Allah in Qur’an 49:15 says, “Surely the believers are only those who believed in Allah and his messenger. They do not doubt, and they performed JIHAD with THEIR MONEY AND THEIR LIVES for the sake of Allah. Those are the truthful.”
Allah promises Heavenly Paradise to Muslims for acts of Muslim killing in a terrorist war when Quran 9:111 says, “Surely Allah has purchased from the believers[Muslims] their souls and their money so that they may have the garden[Heavenly Paradise]. They engage in war for the sake of Allah, so they kill and are killed…”
Taffy says
Check out the 1988 Hamas Charter and you will see what Israel is up against, and why it’s important to utterly destroy Hamas: https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/ACLURM019687.pdf
In 2017, Hamas issued a “revised charter” that slightly tones Don the rhetoric of the 1988 Charter, but notably, it does not revoke it, and it still claims that Israel belongs to the Muzzies.
Becca R says
Because Trump trusted the negotiations to a man who sold his soul to the devil. Witkoff was beholden to Qatar for bailing him out bdisgusted.of a NYzC real estate deal that went south. In addition, trying to curry favor with the incoming US administration, Bibi and company capitualatrd. I am.in a word: disgusted.
Taffy says
You and everyone else that has some foresight as to what will happen in the future are disgusted!
Israel responded to the massacre of its citizens by Hamas with the aim of eliminating Hamas forever. Now, the objective took an about-face, and Hamas will stay to govern, Israel will give up the Philadelphi Corridor which will allow Hamas to rearm through Egypt, it will free all jailed Hamas and other Jihadis and about 85% of those will resume their jihad and terroristic activities. It does not release all the Israeli hostages, and I guarantee that the deceit (Taqiyya) is in the hearts of these Muzzies as it is sanctioned by Islam, and their promises are not worth the paper they are written on.
carpediadem says
Exactly. And the irony for Trump is he’s now no better than Biden in this respect and has increased danger for Americans too.
He now just looks as if he has no idea of how the MidEast world and that he can’t choose the right people for the job he has said he desires.
A terrible introduction for him in this foreign police world.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
The violations of that ceasefire have already started, w/ Hamas failing to provide Israel a list of people they would release. Give it 2 more days, so that there is no doubt as to who is calling the shots – Sullivan or Walz – and then point to the violation and resume pummeling Hamas until they’re completely wiped out. Then go after them in Judea & Samaria as well
Hudders. says
It seems the devil really is the detail, as the saying goes.
Whilst I am, as I am sure many decent hearted people are too greatly pleased, upon learning that those innocent hostages, hopefully many alive & not too traumatized, are to be released, I confess that I regret terribly the fact that Hamas, those who supported them in that satanic cess pool Gaza & all things logistically concerned are not to be wiped from the face of the planet. For good.
Leaving just one of these jihadist animals alive, is surely akin to a farmer planting a very expensive crop in a hard worked field, then planting a devastating invasive seed in the middle, which eventually grows to spoil, ruin & destroy the whole crop.
Leaving just one of these desert death cult demons alive, is like drinking poison & expecting your enemies to die.
I just hope & pray that there is more to this ‘deal’ that is not known & that Trump, his team & all those in Israel who recognize the inevitable danger of leaving the Hamas cancer not fully removed, have their boots firmly on the throats of the terroist scum. Give those bloodthirsty savages an inch & they will take a blood soaked mile.
God be praised that hostages, families & all those affected may enjoy hope, healing & blessing upon hostages returning, but let us pray that Hamas may NEVER be allowed to rise from the stinking rubble of Gaza.
The devil really is in the detail, hopefully not for long. Amen.
sporticus says
When Trump said “there would be hell to pay” I believe most
people assumed that he meant that by the day after D-Day the
20th January 2025, Hamas would be toast, burnt to cinders by
flamethrowers ripping into the Gaza tunnels just as on the beaches
of Normandy 80 years ago.
Instead we got Fright,Fright,Fright…let’s not upset Hamas because
they might get angry again…and kill more people…we can do this…
As for the many questions, one the most puzzling is posed by O’Neill:
” Why did so many in the West side with the pogromists over the
pogrom’s victims following that orgy of barbarism?”
The answer to that is demographics.
For anyone living continuously in the West for the last thirty years
that answer is obvious.
What were those giant white mushrooms that sprang up overnight
in all the cities? The Day of the Mosques and their allied Faith
Schools programmed to bleed the taxpayers dry of their money
and of their will to live and retaliate.
Renanah Goldhar-Gemeiner says
Poor Israel and poor boys who lay in the ground. Poor girls who were raped and beheaded.
Poor Jews who will never know the truth of their land because they will be overwhelmed with the lies.
The Arabs are NOT indienigeous. Only the Jews are. The world recognizned this in internaitonal law 100 years ago and then betrayed us by allowing a massive illegal Arab migration which was then used to block Jews who had nowhere else to do during the Holocaust. The lie of Arab land rights was used to send miillions to their deaths during the Holocuast. Isn’t that enough?
Renanah Goldhar-Gemeiner says
Sad day for Israel.
dad says
UNRWA is a terrorist agency under the Islamic controlled UN
dad says
This period is to be used for regrouping and re arming. Here is where the Biden bux need to be halted
tgusa says
I heard the ceasefire is off. The rape torture murderers went back on their word. What a surprise but thank God! With that Israel is just insuring more dead bodies down the road. Who else besides me has had enough of this?
Karen Dowden says
It is a terrible ‘Deal’, if it can even be called that. In my right mind, I cannot fathom how stupid the west is. Time after time the jihadis will lie low for a while and then strike again. However even if all such groups are removed from this planet, more will always pop up. The core teachings of Islam stipulate the killing of infidels, especially Jews. Israel will always be targeted and attacked by Muslims. Very sad that these people cannot move out of such a regressive mindset.
So we wait and see, how long it will take for another tragedy to be inflicted on Israel.
John Galt III says
Some possibilities under the table
1) The Abraham Accords stopped growing when Biden took office. The Saudis have hinted that if Gaza is settled they might join. Maybe that is part of this.
2) Trump quietly may have informed the Israelis that full military supplies will be reinstated
3) Trump may have informed Israel, that they are free to take out Iran’s nuclear weapons program as well as Iran’s Navy and military capabilities, just as they just did Syria’s military hardware
4) Trump may have told Israel they are free to take whatever part of the Golan they need including keeping what they just took.
5) If Hamas starts the war again, Trump may have said, “Then just go kill them.”
6) Trump said he wanted peace in the Middle East and an end to the Russia/Ukraine War. If he accomplishes those two things then what happens after that is NOT on him.
gravenimage says
The Ceasefire Deal: A Boon for Hamas and a Blow to Israel
………………………………….
Sadly true.