By any reasonable measure, the announcement of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas should be met with cautious hope. The release of hostages after 468 grueling days in captivity is no small matter. Yet, history warns us against placing too much trust in Hamas’s commitment to peace or the agreements it signs.
Time and again, Hamas has demonstrated a pattern of deceit and violence during cease-fire arrangements. The record is staggering: broken ceasefires in 2003, 2007, 2008, and nine times in 2014. More recently, during the first cease-fire after the October 7 attacks, Hamas claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting in Jerusalem. A cease-fire, by definition, means ceasing fire. Hamas seems to see these arrangements not as an opportunity for peace but as a tactical pause in their campaign of terror.
This year alone, Hamas repeatedly rejected hostages-for-prisoners swaps and walked away from negotiations every month from December 2023 through July 2024. In a particularly gruesome act of bad faith, Hamas executed six hostages in September, including an Israeli-American dual citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Just days later, the group announced it would kill hostages if Israeli troops advanced on its hideouts. Such threats underscore Hamas’s depravity and complete disregard for human life.
Despite the Biden administration’s insistence on treating Hamas as a negotiation partner, U.S. officials like State Department spokesman Matthew Miller have not shied away from calling out its barbarity. In September, Miller reminded reporters of Hamas’s willingness to execute innocent hostages, including citizens of countries with no connection to the Israeli conflict. This is not a rational actor pursuing a political agenda; this is a terrorist organization that thrives on chaos and suffering.
Even after the death of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s refusal to engage in meaningful dialogue persisted. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s October visit to the region revealed no softening in Hamas’s position. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan was blunt:
“There is no change in our position.” This obstinacy, combined with Hamas’s past betrayals, signals a grim outlook for any lasting peace.
So why does much of the world’s press give Hamas the benefit of the doubt? Secretary Blinken put it aptly when he questioned the global community’s silence on Hamas’s atrocities. Israel’s actions are scrutinized with relentless vigor, yet there is little pressure on Hamas to disarm, release hostages, or end its campaign of terror.
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