Over the past 2 ½ years, Israel has tried to solve its strategic problems by military means. While the military victories have been dramatic, Israel’s strategic problems remain. Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran still pose an existential threat to Israel’s security, and most of Israel’s population remains exposed to missile attacks. If Clausewitz’s statement “War is a continuation of politics (policy) by other means” is true, perhaps it is also true that politics (policy) is a continuation of war by other means.  Or more accurately, once you have exhausted all military options, it is time to use politics, diplomacy and policy to achieve strategic goals.

Israel’s leaders are beginning to accept the idea that military force alone has its limitations. True security for Israel will only be achieved by an internal regime change in Iran and a Lebanese government determined and empowered to disarm Hezbollah. While Israel and the world’s focus has been on Iran and Lebanon, Gaza has not remained static.  The Trump Plan is the political next step following a devastating war that lasted 2 years and killed thousands of civilians but weakened Israel’s enemy.  Every day that Phase II of the Trump plan is delayed Hamas’s hold on Gaza and its population is strengthened and Israel’s security is once more threatened. For the sake of Israel’s security, Phase II in Gaza cannot wait for Israel to finish its wars in Iran and Lebanon which may take weeks or months.

Phase II of the Trump Peace Plan calls for Hamas and other factions to “agree to not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly, indirectly, or in any form. All military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt. There will be a process of demilitarization of Gaza under the supervision of independent monitors, which will include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, …”.

Six months after the start of the October 2025 ceasefire and three months since Steve Witkoff declared the start of phase two of the Trump Peace........

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