Armed operatives escort a humanitarian aid convoy to the northern Gaza Strip (Image: Facebook.com/aljazeerachannel, March 16, 2024)
Posted on 03/22/2024 7:00:18 AM PDT by SJackson
I rushed to hope that the U.S. would turn the Gaza port initiative into the first step in the move toward its comprehensive peace vision, in cooperation with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority.
This was all based on the hope that Qatar, which is Hamas, would be ousted from any role in it, since it is a sponsor of Islamist terrorism worldwide. My hope was indeed consistent with the first reports about the port initiative. I termed it a "port of hope" and considered it a miracle that the Biden administration would take an actual step to implement its peace vision.
I proved to be damned wrong.
This administration betrayed its allies – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Jordan – by handing the port over to Qatar, namely to Hamas.
By doing so, the U.S. has flipped sides, from Israel to Qatar. In fact, it has been like this for years, thanks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's collaboration with Qatar and Hamas, facilitating the flow of billions of dollars to Hamas-ruled Gaza, which Hamas used to build its military empire and caused the October 7 attack. By giving the port to Hamas, this administration has embraced its own enemy, Qatar, in place of its true allies, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan. (I listed all the Qatari terrorist-sponsoring anti-U.S. activity, and Qatar's connections with Iran, in my latest piece.)
The UAE and Saudi Arabia now realize that any engagement with this administration is hopeless. They will try to wait out President Biden, while moving further toward the other bloc, the bloc of multipolarity: Russia, China, and Iran.[1]
Why did this happen, and what will be the repercussions?
First of all, it should be stressed that this was an American surrender that shows America's weakness to the world. What all anti-U.S. elements will take away from this tragic episode is not that America stands by its human values to support and care for the population of Gaza, but rather that America is weak and that this is why it is granting the port to Qatar and Hamas.
Why is it doing this? First, Israel failed to finish the job within a month or maximum two, which is the time span that the U.S. and the West can tolerate. Hamas, as always, used the Palestinians in Gaza as human shields, thus turning them, through inhumane cruelty, into unarmed and unwitting fighters on its side.
As a result, the West has attacked only Israel, forgetting even about October 7 and the hostages. All that mattered was the tragic human casualties among the Gazan civilian population. Theoretically, the West could adhere to its human values and to international laws of war and say that Hamas's savagery turns civilians into human shields and that therefore we continue to stand by Israel. But such a scenario is a hopeless dream.
Second, as the war continued, and with it the human toll, Israel did not provide the administration with the political horizon it so badly needed to justify its support for Israel – namely, that all these tragic casualties were for the sake of a peace agreement after the war.
Netanyahu wouldn't give it to the administration. Not that his argument – that one cannot speak about a peaceful solution before Hamas is ended – is invalid. In principle, it is valid: One cannot talk about a peace agreement while Hamas continues to exist. But the administration needed a different message for the upcoming presidential election, a message to counter all the protests against it. Netanyahu disregarded this partisan American need, and would not give the administration what it required.
So, the administration had no choice but to focus on humanitarian aid to mitigate the consequences of Israel's battle against Hamas, with its cost in human tragedy. The easiest and most convenient way was to hand this port initiative over to Qatar, which means Hamas.
Repercussions: Weakness Breeds Violence
The Biden administration believes that this small, seemingly insignificant step would grant it a second-rate achievement for November (if not a ceasefire and an agreement, then at least an end to the humanitarian tragedy) that will allow it to eke out a Democratic victory. In reality, its betrayal of its true ally will produce the opposite result.
First of all, via humanitarian aid, Qatar, namely Hamas, will maintain control of the population.
With this small step, the U.S. is surrendering the population into Hamas's hands. As a result more Israeli soldiers will be killed, as well as more Palestinian. And that will cause a wider conflagration.
But the American weakness will breed violence on a far larger scale. All the anti-U.S. forces in the region will now understand that America is weak and fails to stand by its allies – and thus the time is right to throw them out of their bases across the Middle East.
The clash on Israel's northern border will escalate all the way to a comprehensive war with Hizbullah.
The Houthis will intensify their attacks. All of Iran's proxy militias will escalate their attacks on American bases in Syria, Iraq, and Jordan, and Iran will continue to claim that they are acting independently (which is a joke).
Come November, the Biden administration will be faced with a total regional war – not only against Israel but also against America. (And of course it will have no political achievement to show in the Middle East with regard to the war.)
What can we expect to see on the global scene? As a result of America's weakness, as demonstrated in Gaza, Russia will expand its war in Ukraine, with open threats about a nuclear war if NATO reacts. And China will escalate its violent pressure against Taiwan, and against the Philippines in the South China Sea.
Nothing succeeds like success. Nothing fails like failure. The Israeli and American failure in Gaza will set off a total war just before the election. All the anti-U.S. forces will think that this is their time and their chance. America is weak and will not dare to enter into world wars, particularly before the election.
Handing over the port to Qatar, i.e. Hamas, is a small, seemingly insignificant step for one man, President Biden, but one giant leap towards total war.
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Hamas Efforts, Assisted By UNRWA, To Seize Control Of Humanitarian Aid Entering Gaza Strip
Hamas has recently been attempting to seize control of the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, out of recognition that such control is critical to maintaining its rule and its grip on the populace.[1] These efforts were spurred by reports that Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are in contact with armed clans in Gaza with the aim of establishing a local Palestinian force to replace the Hamas administration, which will distribute the humanitarian aid to the civilian population.[2]
Several reports reveal that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is helping Hamas in its efforts to seize control of the humanitarian aid, and coordinates the arrangements to deliver, secure and distribute the aid directly with the Hamas apparatuses. For instance, it was reported that a convoy of 12 aid trucks entered the northern Gaza Strip on March 17, 2024, guarded by armed operatives subordinate to Hamas, following a preparatory coordination meeting between representatives of the Hamas police and of UNRWA that took place at Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital on March 16. In remarks to Reuters, a senior UN official openly admitted that his organization is coordinating with the Hamas police. The official, Jamie McGoldrick, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said that the UN coordinates with the "Blue Police" (i.e., Hamas police), albeit "in a discreet manner," because Israel views this force as part of the Hamas infrastructure.[3] Several Arab media outlets, among them the Rai Al-Youm online daily, likewise reported about the coordination between UNRWA and Hamas and the direct involvement of Hamas in securing the aid convoys and distributing the aid.[4] Furthermore, in a video posted on the Telegram channel of Hamas' Civil Defense Force, a member of this force stated that his men secured the March 17 convoy.[5]
At the same time, Hamas is evidently attempting to conceal its direct involvement in, and control of, the delivery of the aid, presumably in order to deceive Israeli and international elements that are likely to oppose this. It is doing so by acting through proxies, such as "the Popular Defense Committees", whose members explicitly note that they are subordinate to the Hamas interior ministry, and "Palestinian clans" which openly assert that they will cooperate with Hamas.[6]
To view excerpts from the video posted by the Hamas Civil Defense Force, click
As stated, Hamas is making efforts to take control of the aid entering the Gaza Strip and to oversee its distribution, out of recognition that this is vital to maintaining its control of the Strip. To this end, its representatives recently held coordination meetings with representatives of UNRWA, at which it was agreed that the aid would be handed over to local elements, such as tribal forces – presumably in order to obscure Hamas' involvement – but that Hamas gunmen would oversee the operations.
On March 18, the Palestinian news site Ultrapal reported that a 12-truck aid convoy that entered Gaza on the night between March 16 and March 17 had arrived following a coordination meeting held on March 16 at Al-Shifa hospital between tribal representatives and UNRWA representatives, which was also "attended by representatives of [Hamas'] Palestinian security forces in Gaza." According to the report, the Hamas representatives agreed that the aid trucks would "be received by the tribal [elements], who would be guarded by 'emergency committees' comprising armed members of the various factions, chiefly Hamas, that have formulated a plan on the ground to prevent the theft of the aid and ensure that it reaches as many of the people as possible."[7] It was also reported that, in order to ensure the orderly distribution of the aid, the "Palestinian security forces" had issued guidelines to the public, and that the "emergency committees" had been instructed to take firm measures against anyone trying to steal the aid or disrupt its distribution.[8] These committees are subordinate to Hamas' interior ministry,[9] and the context makes it clear that the "Palestinian security forces" likewise belong to Hamas.
The "Popular Defense Committees" That Escort Humanitarian Aid Trucks: Strawman Groups Belonging To Hamas's Interior Ministry
As mentioned above, Hamas is attempting to conceal its direct involvement in aid distribution, apparently with the goal of deceiving Israeli and international elements that may oppose this involvement since it is a way of maintaining Hamas' control over the Gaza Strip. An additional goal may be to protect the Hamas operatives from Israeli strikes. The primary method used by Hamas to this end is the employment of organizations that ostensibly have no ties to it. Among these organizations are the "Popular Defense Committees" that were established by Hamas in February 2024, following the mass plundering of humanitarian aid trucks by civilians[10] and the criticism faced by Hamas following reports that its operatives are seizing the aid and selling it to civilians for profit.[11]
The Popular Defense Committees are comprised of masked thugs who are generally armed with clubs or with rifles, tasked with assisting Hamas's interior ministry in managing the humanitarian aid and in dealing with thieves or vendors who inflate the prices of goods. A typical Popular Defense Committee group consists of several operatives armed with clubs, led by an operative armed with a rifle.
Armed operatives escort a humanitarian aid convoy to the northern Gaza Strip (Image: Facebook.com/aljazeerachannel, March 16, 2024)
Masked gunman guards an aid truck bound for the northern Gaza Strip (Image: Telegram channel of Hamas' Civil Defense Force: t.me/dcdgaza, March 18, 2024)
So much for Israel providing ground security for the "port"
“I termed it a “port of hope”
Amazing how clueless so many are about Traitor Joe and the rats. The author actually believed Biden had good intentions what a fool.
It was my understanding Israel was involved in the planning of the port mission, being allowed to inspect ships in Cypress and having security control on the ground. Seems to me transport from Israel made more sense, Israel has plenty of ports. But clearly this was a double cross, essentially providing resupply to Hamas. Humanitarian resupply at least. The author is President and co founder of MEMRI. Hardly naive. Perhaps he’s wrong, but if Qatar is to control the port with UNWRA assistance, Joe is clearly taking Hamas’ side. Perhaps we’ll help them reconstruct the tunnels too.
Big mistake for anyone thinking that Biden had any good intentions for America. That should have been proven out by now. Biden, Hamas & certain other “players” all have one thing in common. They can’t be trusted. Can Trump fix it? I don’t know, but am doubting he could screw it up much worse.
U.S. Navy does not train to repel boarders - in expectation of:
HAMAS shielding itself behind a human wave, approaches and boards a U.S. Navy ship.
I am sure you are a very nice person but so hopelessly naive that you should not be let out without a keeper.
The Nigerian Prince is not real either.
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