Can Trump Free the Hostages?

A Suggestion to the President Elect

President Trump is moving at full speed to be ready for January 20 when his (second) first day as President will begin.  He is appointing people without pause and organizing policy proposals.

Trump has had success where others have failed in the middle east, most notably with the Abraham Accords.  He understood then what everyone else thought impossible – creating synergies between Israel and some Arab states did not require a Palestinian state.    Being bold now and going against the grain can now do what Biden-Blinken and Israel have failed to do for over a year – free the hostages and end the war in Gaza with a Hamas defeat. 

Here is a suggestion to the President-elect that will help start his presidency with a win.   Rather than fall into the Biden-Harris-Blinken trap of pressuring Israel into an agreement that will cause more harm and suffering and do little good, Trump ought to state unequivocally that all hostages must be released and Hamas must surrender by January 20 and if not, the following will happen:

1.      All “humanitarian” aid will be stopped in Gaza and Israel will face no restraints in attacking Hamas, wherever they are.

2.      A one-mile buffer zone will be created and recognized by the United States as a under the permanent military control of Israel.  This will be permanent lost territory for the Gazans.

3.      The corridors in place that split Gaza into to, such as the Netzarim corridor and one that will be completed separating Khan Yunis from Rafah, will become territory under permanent Israeli military control

4.      Rafah and the Philadelphi corridor separating Gaza from Egypt will also be under permanent Israeli control.

The developing consensus in Israel (by all except part of the aristocracy) is that without the Biden-Blinken humanitarian aid obsession, the war would have been over and the hostages released by January of 2024.   The aid and the delay in capturing Rafah allowed Hamas to re-arm and recruit more fighters by giving them a cash infusion that they did not have before.   It is well known that Hamas confiscated and then sold the aid in order to fund their military operations making this an illegal payment to a terrorist organization.  This makes the cessation of this “humanitarian” assistance a legal necessity.

If the Gazans respond by forcing Hamas out and getting the hostages home (Hamas will not do it on their own) then Trump may be in line for a Nobel Peace Prize (just joking).   The Israelis will have to help in this, though by increasing military pressure and doing a better job getting to the people who actually hold the hostages and letting them know that the January 20 deadline means that they will have nowhere to go and they and their families will be punished severely.  Israel has not been aggressive enough in getting to those that hold the hostages and offering the carrots and sticks we proposed after Sinwar was killed. 

A Trump announcement of the above will give some kick to Israeli pressure on those that are holding the hostages and on the Gazans themselves and force the government, army and Shaback to double down on this effort.  It will also turn the hostages and Hamas itself from assets into liabilities for the Gazans.  This can’t wait until January 20, 2025.  By showing the world that appeasing terrorists helps no one, Trump can have his first foreign policy triumph – and before he evens enters office.