I begin with news of a stabbing and ramming terror attack which occurred at the Gush Etzion Junction. Aharon Cohen, 65, a veteran resident of Kiryat Arba, was killed. One woman was seriously injured; a man and a boy were moderately injured. This junction has been the site of numerous attacks over time.
“A preliminary investigation found that the terrorists first attempted to run over pedestrians at the Gush Etzion Junction. They then exited their vehicle, pulled out knives, and stabbed passersby. Armed civilians and reservists from the IDF’s 7491 Battalion who identified the attackers opened fire. The IDF reported that several pipe bombs were found in the terrorists’ vehicle.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/417988
One of the terrorists was from Hevron and the other from the Palestinian Arab town of Beit Ummar near Hevron.
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As to what the hell is going on more broadly, it is difficult to know where to begin, for the situation shifts with staggering frequency. But what I see with some clarity at this point is that Israel is not in a good place – optimistic statements from some quarters notwithstanding. I tell it as I see it.
At bottom is the fact that President Trump is a transactionalist. Not just a transactionalist, but someone who is determined to get what he is after. And so, he does his “deals,” and makes his offers, in order to achieve his goals. Values such as loyalty and integrity are irrelevant, as are previous statements of his that have become hinderances to what he seeks.
What Trump wants now is to play the role of “peacemaker” in the Middle East. Most specifically, he wants to enlarge the Abraham Accords (and I will come to this). To this end, he has been courting Arab Muslim states, including the most disreputable. His minions within the government work alongside him to advance his goals, of course.
Over several days, I have been watching one situation after another that struck me as not only unsettling but in some instances downright shameful.
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First case in point: Last week, Ahmed al-Sharaa, president of Syria, visited the White House – the first Syrian president to ever do so. Trump was courting him, and we were privy to his statement:
Hailing Sharaa as “a very strong leader,” he said his administration would “do everything we can to make Syria successful.” Here we see Trump’s materialistic transactionalist approach.
“He comes from a very tough place, and he’s a tough guy. I liked him. I get along with him…
“He has had a rough past. And I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance. He gets along very well with Turkey, with President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, who’s a great leader.”
Sharaa didn’t have a “rough” past, he was a terrorist associated with Al-Qaeda. In fact, until days before he came to the White House, he was still branded as an international terrorist by the U.S. government, which had a $10 million bounty on his head. Sharaa says he has moderated, but he has been in office less than a year and it is far too soon to judge his sincerity. Trump is acting precipitously.
As to Erdogan, he’s a dangerous man who aspires to control at least part of Syria (if not to re-establish the Ottoman Empire), is anti-Israel and supports Hamas. Apparently this does not matter to Trump if praising Erdogan suits his purpose.
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When Sharaa first overthrew Assad, Israel was wary of what would transpire (with solid reason) and moved troops onto the Syrian side of the Golan and a bit beyond for security reasons. Israel says this move is temporary but is not prepared to pull back yet because of concerns about Sharaa’s sincerity. Now Sharaa is demanding a pullback, and he says that Trump supports his position.
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Let’s turn briefly, then, to Steve Witkoff, one of my least favorite people within Trump’s administration. Although, of course, he is, operating at the behest of Trump and not on his own initiative.
Trump has sanctioned another meeting between Witkoff and Hamas senior leader Khalil al-Hayya because Trump wants to “keep open a direct line of communication.”
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/s1wmwqrl11g
Trump is concerned about maintaining the ceasefire, because if it falls apart, it will hinder his larger plans for the region. But, as I have written before, what he is doing is simply wrong if there is a genuine interest in defeating terrorism. There should be no negotiations with a terror organization. What Trump is doing is raising the status of Hamas to that of a political player.
As to Witkoff, after his first meeting with al-Hayya, he bragged that he had spoken to him about the fact that they had both lost sons and were thus members of the same “club.” Now he is talking about it again. While many of us find this deplorable (it makes me crazy), it seems likely that this is part of the administration’s larger plan: al-Haya elevated from being seen as a terrorist to the status of a buddy one can share with.
Lev Stesin, writing today (Wednesday) in the JPost, believes that Witkoff will be discussing with Hayya the “problem” of the 200 terrorists caught on the Israeli side of the yellow line, and that moving ahead the US will find multiple reasons why it is “necessary” to have direct contact with Hamas.
Stesin compares what is happening now with what was done with the terrorist Yasser Arafat, who morphed from being a terrorist to a partner in the Oslo Accords.
Writes Stesin (emphasis added):
“…It is also clear that the legitimization of Hamas, as a serious and recognized negotiating partner, is underway and perhaps has already been completed.
“…To be fair to the current administration, it does not contradict any postulates of its foreign policy. Trump’s approach to all foreign conflicts, without any exception, is to reposition the US from being an ally of one side, where that is the case, to being a neutral facilitator of possible peaceful negotiations.
“…the slow rebranding of Hamas, making it a legitimate partner and presenting it as a representative of the Palestinian Arabs, is the most dangerous strategic development for Israel’s future.”
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-874281
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In mid-October, just slightly more than a month ago, Trump said (emphasis added):
“If they [Hamas] don’t disarm, we will disarm them and it will happen quickly and perhaps violently.
“But they will disarm, do you understand me?”
Talk is cheap, however. Especially talk from Trump. At about the same time that Trump made this statement, VP Vance was declaring that there would be no “American boots on the ground” in Gaza. This was actually a reiteration of a similar declaration from Trump back in February.
At this point, it is quite clear that Trump has no interest in disarming Hamas, and no other nation is willing to do so except Israel. But Trump wants to maintain that “ceasefire” in order to keep all the nations of the Middle East happy and will do all that he can to prevent Israel from disarming Hamas.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz has now made Trump’s policy clear. “He [Waltz] said that the Gaza conflict left only two options: Hamas or permanent IDF control, stressing that long-term Israeli administration over Gaza would hinder expansion of Abraham Accords, the administration’s top priority.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/417991
And so, to further his goals, Trump is prepared to leave Hamas – which perpetrated a massacre of Israelis and has sworn to do it again – standing in Gaza. In the vernacular, this is known as throwing Israel under the bus.
My understanding of Trump’s thinking is that this is a good thing – furthering peace in the Middle East and thus also a good thing for Israel in the long run. He can think this way – think that he knows what is in our best interest better than we do – because he has not a clue about the persistence and strength of jihadist ideology.
There is vague talk now about the possibility of simply skipping the disarmament phase of his 20-point plan and moving on to the reconstruction of Gaza. There is a notion that has been floated of allowing Gaza to be divided, with Israel controlling part along with international troops and Hamas controlling part. Reconstruction would be done only on the side controlled by Israel. I have absolutely no doubt about the fact that the international troops stationed with Israel would be there to contain any Israeli attempt to take down Hamas.
I will return to this crazy idea if it is furthered.
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The UN Security Council has now accepted Trump’s 20-point plan, with some revisions. In some quarters this is being celebrated as a victory for Israel because it does not acknowledge the existence of a Palestinian state, even though a handful of countries – France, etc. – have declared recognition of such a state.
But I, along with many others, see the situation as dangerous. For points 19 and 20 read: “when the PA reform programme is faithfully carried out, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognise as the aspiration of the Palestinian people…The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous co-existence.”
This leaves the door open for pressure on Israel to recognize a Palestinian state. The entire issue of how to determine that a reform program has been “faithfully carried out” is huge. The likelihood of this happening is extremely remote to nonexistent, but we can anticipate that there will be claims in this regard.
See extensive comments and analysis by Leslie Kajomovitz on X here. She wrote immediately prior to the vote, saying it would make the situation more dangerous for Israel:
https://x.com/kikas6652/status/1990079980718457158
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As to pressure on Israel to work towards establishing a Palestinian state, this is going to come from the US administration for other reasons as well.
Yesterday (Tuesday), Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, was Trump’s guest in the White House.
Trump is most eager to have the Saudis join the Abraham Accords. As Saudi Arabia is the largest and most powerful of the Gulf states, this would be a great coup. Thus Trump was falling all over himself in his attempt to be welcoming and solicitous.
MBS declared himself interested in the Accords but insisted that there must be a path to a two-state solution as part of the agreement. And so there you have it. There is deep concern here in Israel, in addition to all other objections (to which I will return), that giving a pathway to a Palestinian state is a reward for terrorism.
Additionally, MBS wanted to buy F-35 stealth jets from the US. Israel registered concern about the weakening of our qualitative military edge. Trump, however, has decided to give the Saudis the same model of the F-35 that we possess, saying that Saudi Arabia is “a great ally, as is Israel.” He said that Israel would be “very happy” about the deal.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjj00umclbg
“Through close cooperation with manufacturer Lockheed Martin, Israeli defense firms have integrated proprietary technologies into the aircraft, including advanced electronic warfare systems, enhanced command and control capabilities, and locally developed weapons systems.”
This may be a redeeming factor for Israel, providing an important advantage.
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Trump additionally elevated Saudi Arabia to a “major non-NATO ally,” a formal relationship that deepens defense cooperation. This follows an announcement by MBS regarding an investment in the US of approximately a trillion dollars.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/18/trump-saudi-arabia-ally-00658467
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I would like to recommend an opinion piece by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, who is also a lawyer, living in Israel. From his piece:
“Trump is a secular materialist. He sincerely believes that money runs the world and that people who have money downgrade and dismiss their values and principles. That is false, as proved by, among many others, Osama bin Laden, a billionaire. In this part of the world, religion is the prime mover. Ideology is supreme.
“The secular materialist mind cannot understand the suicide bomber – or even today’s Gazans, among whom once again Hamas has majority support despite the devastation wreaked upon them.
“The secular materialist mind cannot fathom how and why restaurants are springing up across the Arab world – including in Jordan, a country with whom we are at peace – called “October 7” in celebration of the great massacre of Jews that took place on that day.
“The secular materialist mind simply does not comprehend the hold of religion in the Middle East and how it can produce such virulent ideas and actions.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/417983
Pruzansky says Trump is a friend who means well, “despite his complete ignorance about the true nature of the hostility against Israel.”
“…The reality is that much of Trump world is a chimera. Extortion, bluster, boasts, volatility, effervescence, and caprice are all part of the act. At his core, he is a huckster, a bluffer, a fulminator prone to outlandish claims and tempestuous threats.”
Warns Pruzansky: “we cannot allow Trump to force us into a reality that we know is not so. The real world in which we live is warning us that peace is not coming here anytime soon.”
Of course he is correct. Our leaders must stay strong, at all cost, and all those who care about Israel must support that strength.
Recently, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declared: “Israel will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian terror state in the heart of the Land of Israel, at a negligible distance from all its population centers and with topographical control over them…”
While three days ago, during a visit to Rafah, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the IDF holds more than half of Gaza and is focusing on clearing the Yellow Line while preventing Hamas from rebuilding its capabilities
“Alongside the current operational process, we must be ready for a rapid move to large-scale activity to establish operational control of areas in the Gaza Strip beyond the Yellow Line,” he said.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hyiiadpl11l
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Please, pray for all of Am Yisrael: for the wisdom and courage of our leaders, the healing of the returned hostages, return of all deceased hostages, and our final victory over Hamas.
©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
