Near the end of the movie Mary Poppins there’s a scene where everyone breaks out in a song “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” There’s probably no more wholesome fun than flying a kite with one of your kids. But that was long ago before Hamas began flying kites intending to kill people.
This isn’t a new thing for Hamas. They’d been flying incendiary devices into Israel for years before their October 7, 2023 attack which began the latest war. Now, Hamas seems to be trying to get away with the new round of attacks and, according to the United Nations, they are.
Mr. Trump, it’s time to take a stand against all of those things. If you don’t, our only real ally in the Middle East will be left all alone.
UN Human Rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani dismissed Israeli threats to evacuate civilians from areas where the fire kites are being flown. She said, “On the threat of expulsion due to children’s kite flying, I hope we can all agree that this is outrageous.” Really? The Hamas kites aren’t innocent acts by children. The incendiary kites are terrorist acts.
Hamas is testing Israel’s response. Will it attack the presumed kite launch sites? It very well could but that would not be a forceful move. Hitting some empty lots won’t do anything.
While all this is going on, Hamas is doing pretty much everything to not comply with the stated terms of the U.S. cease-fire in Gaza.
One Hamas “senior spokesman,” Hasan Badran, said in a August 12 interview that Hamas has decided to participate in the Palestinian elections to be held at the end of November. This clearly violates the ban on Hamas’s participation in the government of Gaza which is part of the cease-fire deal.
Hamas continues to police Gaza, contrary to its commitment not to govern the territory.
Meanwhile, it has become entirely clear that Hamas will not disarm, which is another part of the deal.
It should surprise no one that Hamas, a terrorist organization, is not living up to its obligations. It’s what they always do. That is because of Hamas’s ideological commitment — and Hizballah’s — to wiping Israel off the map and the fact that Iran’s regime is still standing. With Hizballah in Lebanon — Hamas will keep attacking Israel as long as Iran’s regime exists. The Iranians, who control Hamas and Hizballah, continue to send arms, funding, and other weapons to both terrorist groups.
The question comes down to how long will the Israelis stay with their hands-off Gaza commitment. President Trump is certainly pressuring the Israelis to stay with their commitment but he has to know that Israel can only keep to that commitment for a short time. If one Israeli citizen is killed, the gloves have to come off.
But Mr. Trump has to realize that if Israeli citizens are endangered by the fire kites, Israel will have to hit Hamas hard and in places where it doesn’t expect to be attacked.
Israel has been too patient with the Gaza cease-fire. The latest provocations by Hamas with the fire kites isn’t anything that should bring about a larger war but Hamas’s refusal to disarm can and should.
But any Israeli attempt to disarm Hamas will take a massive ground campaign that will lead to many lives lost on both sides. But if that is what it takes, so be it.
Israel is in a very tough position. It will be condemned by the world — including many in the U.S. — if it undertakes to disarm Hamas. If the Republicans lose the House or the Senate or both in the November elections, Israel may face an end to U.S. support. Most Democrats favor that solution to the problem which is no solution at all.
It’s time for Mr. Trump to take a stand in favor of Israeli action. But he seems tolerant of the stalemated Iran war as well as the Hamas stalemate in Gaza. There’s no reason for him to be tolerant of any stalemate but he apparently is.
The truth of the matter is that Israel has been fighting our fight against Islamic terrorism in Gaza, in Lebanon against Hizballah, and, most of all, in Iran. If they cannot rely on American assistance in those wars just what do we stand for?
We don’t, as the Democrats do, support Hasan Piker, an “American” podcaster who has said, among the many other awful things, that the U.S. deserved the 9-11 attacks. We don’t stand with the Democrats who elected New York Mayor Mamdani, who wants to turn the city into a mini-socialist state. And we don’t stand with the many Democrats who want to end U.S. support of Israel.
Mr. Trump, it’s time to take a stand against all of those things. If you don’t, our only real ally in the Middle East will be left all alone.
READ MORE from Jed Babbin:
Trump’s Iran Gamble: ‘Economic D-Day’ and the Strait of Hormuz
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