This is a message to the people responsible for the negotiations on ending the war in Gaza. It is a message to the members of the Israeli team (excluding the politicians attached to Netanyahu’s coat strings). It is a message to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators. It is a message to President Trump and his chief emissary Steve Witkoff, and to Bishara Bahbah, the American-Palestinian ally of Trump working with the US negotiating team.

It is a message to the leaders of the Arab world—starting with MBS and MBZ and including King Abdullah II and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. It is a message to those Members of Knesset who have a moral code that goes beyond obeying the orders of the Israeli supreme leader. It is a message to the chiefs of the Israeli army and the heads of Israel’s security apparatuses. It is also a message to the Hamas leadership and their negotiating team.

The war in Gaza must come to an end now. The ceasefire deal that is on the table is a bad deal and must be replaced immediately with an end-of-war deal that brings home all of the hostages at once, releases Palestinian prisoners, brings about full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and marks a full and complete end to the war.

The deal that is on the table is a bad deal because it does not end the war. It does not end the death and destruction. It leaves half of the hostages in Gaza and delays the arrangements that would create a new legitimate Palestinian government for Gaza (without Hamas).

The deal prolongs the war in Gaza and is on the table solely for internal Israeli political reasons. The war is essentially over in terms of its strategic aims—it ended many months ago. Netanyahu knows it. The Chief of Staff of the IDF knows it. The Shin Bet and the Mossad know it........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)