What Would Trump’s Idea of Gaza ‘Hell’ Look Like?

President Trump’s threat of inflicting “hell” on Gaza is widely being dismissed as bluster: After all, isn’t the Strip already an earthly Hades? Yet, Israelis believe that if the deal for incremental releases of hostages collapses, they do have options to inflict further punishment on Hamas and end the terrorist group’s control of Gaza. “I have a Saturday deadline, and I don’t think they’re going to make the deadline, personally,” Mr. Trump said of Hamas while hosting King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House on Tuesday. “I think they want to play tough guy but we’ll see how tough they are.”Mr. Trump hosted the king while promoting his plan to “take” Gaza and relocate its residents to other places. Current conditions in Gaza are “like living in hell,” he said. So what additional “hell” could be inflicted if Hamas fails to release more hostages? “The IDF has many options in Gaza,” the founder of the Israel Defense and Security Forum, Amir Avivi, a retired brigadier general, tells the Sun. “The army is preparing for all scenarios, and it’s doing so under new command, with renewed purpose, and a commitment to win this war.” Following the February 1 resignation of the IDF chief of staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, a newly minted commander, General Eyal Zamir, is scheduled to take the helm on March 6. Military watchers say they expect fresh tactics and renewed focus under the new command. “The language of threats has no value, it only complicates matters,” a Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, said Tuesday in reaction to Mr. Trump’s threat.Israeli commentators note that Hamas’s threat to suspend next Saturday’s hostage releases came once it already had received most of what it wanted. That includes the release of hundreds of terrorists from Israeli prisons, an increase in aid, and especially Monday’s IDF withdrawal from the strategic Netzarim corridor, which nearly ended its presence in the Strip. If Israel so decides, Mr. Avivi says the IDF could re-occupy Gaza. It could facilitate the emigration of all Gazans who want to get out of the Strip according to Mr. Trump’s plan. Perhaps crucially, it also could take the distribution of humanitarian aid out of Hamas’s hands.Hamas now controls most of the aid that Israel facilitates as part of the cease-fire deal. Hamas uses it to recruit new fighters and resume its control of the Strip. Israelis say that Mr. Trump’s “hell” means he would allow Israel to halt aid flow until Hamas no longer controls it. In a videotaped Hebrew-language statement following a three-hour cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu seemed to, for now, be demanding that Hamas fulfill its obligations under the current terms of the deal. Instead of Mr. Trump’s call to free “all” hostages by noon Saturday, the premier demanded the release “in short order” of the remaining nine living hostages included in the deal’s first phase.Following Hamas’s violation of the deal and its refusal to release three hostages Saturday, Mr. Netanyahu said, though, “I ordered the IDF to deploy in and around Gaza,” adding: “If Hamas doesn’t return our hostages by Saturday afternoon, the cease-fire will end, and the IDF will go back to intensive fighting until the final defeat of Hamas.”Mr. Netanyahu said that the entire cabinet agrees with Mr. Trump’s missive to Hamas to release all hostages, as well as with the president’s plan to empty out Gaza and rebuild it into a “beautiful” place. Mr. Trump has named Jordan and Egypt as possible recipients of relocated Gazans. Both strongly objected to the plan, but King Abdullah was diplomatic as he faced reporters at the White House. He even offered to helicopter 2,000 cancer-stricken children out of Gaza and into Jordan. “That’s really a beautiful gesture,” Mr. Trump said. Accompanied by his son, Hussein, the Hashemite monarch noted that Arab countries are planning to meet on February 27 at Riyadh, where they are expected to devise their own plan. “Obviously, we have to look at the best interests of the United States, of the people in the region, especially to my people of Jordan, and we’re going to have some interesting discussions today,” he said. Israelis mostly support Mr. Trump’s plan, which could remove the threat of Hamas from their southern border. Intelligence officials, though, are reportedly warning that having a large number of Gazans in Jordan and Egypt could be problematic. They could, for one, join smugglers who transfer Iranian weapons through Iraq and Jordan to the West Bank. Mr. Trump said that “we are above” threatening to end the $1.5 billion in annual aid to Jordan. Yet, he made clear that America will “take” Gaza. “We’re going to have Gaza, we don’t have to buy it,” he said. “We’re going to hold it, we’re going to cherish it,” and “it can be a diamond.”

What Would Trump’s Idea of Gaza ‘Hell’ Look Like?

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