EDITORIAL: Turns out that Donald Trump’s warning, that “all hell would break out in the Middle East” if a deal wasn’t reached by the time he took office, was aimed more at his old pal Netanyahu than whatever is left of Hamas’s leadership.

Because, just like that, Bibi agreed to a worse peace deal than the one he’d been rubbishing since May 2024 even though Hamas signed the document that guaranteed releasing all hostages in a three-for-one prisoner exchange and a complete IDF withdrawal from Gaza.

That “didn’t come close to meeting the war aims”, which included complete eradication of Hamas and lasting strategic Israeli presence in Gaza, Netanyahu thundered before the press in Tel Aviv at the time.

Now, the Israeli government has agreed to free 30 Palestinians for each civilian and 50 for every solider released by Hamas, just as its tanks reluctantly getting out of the Philadelphi corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border and the Netzarim corridor that bisects the Gaza Strip make way for Hamas, battered but still functioning, to take back control of the entire region.

So, Hamas is still in charge and Palestinians celebrate........

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