Transcript [00:00] So, Jared Kushner was in Egypt [00:03] yesterday. He went to Al Alamain, Egypt [00:04] and sat down face-to-face with Khalil [00:06] al-Hayya, the chief of Hamas. [00:08] And he brought the Board of Peace envoys [00:10] with him, Nikolai Mladenov, Tony Blair, [00:13] top diplomats from Turkey, Qatar, Egypt. [00:16] And the subject on the table, of course, [00:17] was the next phase of Trump's Gaza [00:19] roadmap. [00:21] Hamas's alleged disarmament. [00:24] And what's going to happen next? Now, [00:27] what I want to talk about in this video, [00:28] I want to talk about what hap- just a a [00:30] coup- just a quote from yesterday, but I [00:33] really want to pull back the camera and [00:34] talk about the whole issue of how we [00:36] achieve peace. How do we actually get to [00:39] peace in the Middle East? Okay, that's [00:41] what we're going to get to. But, let's [00:42] start with what happened yesterday. [00:43] Okay, so stick around cuz we're going to [00:45] get to a much larger point. [00:47] And it's the real point of this video. [00:49] But, let's start again. What happened [00:51] yesterday is that Kushner met with [00:53] Khalil al-Hayya, the the chief of Hamas. [00:56] And he according to this uh news item [00:59] here, he uh [01:01] while at the same time pressuring him to [01:03] actually disarm, which is just an [01:05] absurdity. That's just laughable. [01:07] Um it says here, check this out. [01:10] Hayya told Kushner that Hamas remains [01:12] committed to the disarmament plan, but [01:14] will only implement it if Israel upholds [01:16] its end of the bargain, noting [01:17] Netanyahu's public rejection of the [01:19] proposal. Yes, Israel rejected the [01:22] 15-point [01:23] roadmap for implementation of phase two [01:26] of Trump's 20-point plan because [01:29] the roadmap for implementation of phase [01:31] two isn't an implementation of phase [01:33] two. It's an undoing of the roadmap. [01:35] But, I've already talked about that at [01:37] length, and I wrote about that in my [01:38] most recent column in the Jerusalem [01:40] Post. Just uh Google uh Jerusalem Post [01:43] and my name, and it'll it'll pop up. Or [01:45] my my author page will pop up. You'll [01:46] find it pretty easily. It was from a [01:48] couple days ago. [01:50] Kushner sought to assure al-Hayya that [01:52] the US-controlled Board of Peace would [01:54] lean on Israel to halt strikes in Gaza [01:58] and gradually withdraw from the strip [02:00] once Hamas begins handing over its [02:03] weapons, the diplomat added. In other [02:05] words, Hamas doesn't have to fully [02:07] disarm and the US is going to start [02:09] pressuring Israel to withdraw in [02:11] advance. And he's assuring the head of [02:13] Hamas of this. Do you understand that [02:14] Hamas is supposed to be removed? [02:17] But we'll get to that more in a moment. [02:19] And the other point I wanted to bring [02:20] out of this very uh [02:22] let's just run to it quickly. [02:26] Oh, yeah, there's this. Just a side [02:27] note. Palestinian Islamic Jihad is still [02:30] active and Israel was hunting them too [02:32] the other day, which raises the question [02:33] who's going to disarm them. They're [02:35] another terrorist group who are not [02:37] Hamas. [02:38] So, they're not even part of these [02:40] ridiculous negotiations. [02:42] Who's Who's disarming them? What's the [02:43] plan? Anyway, I digress. But, let's go [02:46] to the main issue here. [02:48] Here, this. [02:49] Amid Israel's refusal to move forward [02:52] with the deal, several top Muslim [02:54] countries on Sunday called on the US to [02:57] enforce Israel's compliance. [03:00] In a joint statement, the countries [03:02] including Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, [03:04] the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, [03:06] Pakistan, and Indonesia [03:09] said that Israel [03:11] Israel's rejection, there's a typo here, [03:13] Israel's rejection threatens Trump's [03:15] intensified efforts to end war in Gaza. [03:18] Israel's rejection of this road map [03:22] threatens to [03:24] it threatens the efforts to end the war [03:26] in Gaza. You understand what they're [03:27] saying? This is what we're going to talk [03:29] about. Israel bears res- This is a quote [03:32] now from the statement that was put out [03:33] by these eight Arab countries, eight [03:35] Muslim countries. [03:36] Israel bears responsibility for [03:38] disrupting peace efforts in Gaza and the [03:40] Palestinian territories. These positions [03:42] amount to a direct repudiation of the [03:44] comprehensive plan. No, they don't. [03:46] The road map [03:48] is not the same as the comprehensive [03:50] plan. The comprehensive plan is the [03:51] original Trump 20-point plan. [03:53] These positions amount to a direct [03:54] repudiation of the comprehensive plan, [03:56] jeopardizes implementation, and [03:57] fundamentally undermine the collective [03:59] efforts undertaken to achieve a just [04:02] and lasting [04:04] peace. [04:05] This is what I want to talk about in [04:07] this video. [04:09] That Israel is being cast as the [04:12] obstacle to peace. This is the problem. [04:16] You see, [04:17] point 13 of Trump's own 20-point plan. [04:19] Let's first talk about Gaza, then we'll [04:20] then we will widen the lens and talk [04:22] about the Middle East in general. [04:25] But point 13 of Trump's own 20-point [04:27] plan, the plan everyone signed on to, [04:29] the plan that Israel actually agreed to, [04:31] says in plain English that Hamas and [04:33] other factions agree to not have any [04:35] role in the governance of Gaza, [04:37] directly, indirectly, or in any form. [04:40] End quote. [04:42] That same point calls for their military [04:44] infrastructure to be destroyed, their [04:45] weapons put permanently beyond use. [04:48] That's the language. [04:50] Not stored somewhere, destroyed. So, I [04:52] have a question. If the plan says that [04:54] Hamas gets zero role in Gaza's future, [04:57] no governance, no weapons, directly or [04:59] indirectly, why is America's peace envoy [05:02] sitting across the table from Hamas's [05:03] commander [05:05] negotiating with him as a party to the [05:06] process? Hamas isn't supposed to be a [05:08] stakeholder in this plan. Hamas is the [05:10] subject of the plan. If you read the [05:12] 20-point plan, it's about the removal of [05:14] Hamas, but they're not a party to it. [05:16] They are the thing being removed. [05:20] The moment you sit down with the people [05:22] you're removing and let them negotiate [05:24] the terms of their own removal, [05:28] you're being played. [05:31] That's not going to lead to disarmament, [05:33] obviously. But, it gets worse because we [05:36] have these eight [05:37] Muslim countries putting out a joint [05:39] statement [05:40] that Israel is obstructing efforts to [05:43] bring peace in Gaza. [05:47] Think about that. [05:49] Israel refuses to sign on to a process [05:51] that leaves Hamas standing, [05:53] armed, in power, [05:54] sitting at the table as a legitimate [05:56] party. And for that, Israel is the [05:58] obstacle to peace. [06:01] And I think this is actually the most [06:03] one of the most important ideas, maybe [06:04] the most important idea that I could [06:06] share with you to understand [06:09] the problem in the Middle East, what we [06:11] are up against, the moment that we're [06:13] in. [06:14] I think it's actually huge. [06:17] Not because this is true, it's obviously [06:19] not true. It's because it's exactly [06:21] backwards. [06:23] And once you see how backwards it is, [06:24] and I mean the statement that says that [06:26] Israel Israel's refusal [06:29] to engage in this process that leaves [06:31] Hamas somehow standing, meaning that [06:33] stops short of the original plan to [06:35] completely remove them, that Israel not [06:38] agreeing to this half measure is an [06:41] obstacle to peace is exactly backwards. [06:44] Once you see how backwards it is, you'll [06:46] understand that this is the same [06:48] problem, identical problem that is [06:50] plaguing us in the situation in Lebanon [06:52] and in Iran, all of it. [06:55] Here's the logic. Track with me here. [06:58] Here's the logic being sold to us. Peace [07:01] is peace equals coming to an agreement. [07:06] An agreement requires two parties. Hamas [07:08] is a party, therefore peace requires [07:11] coming to an agreement with Hamas, some [07:12] sort of ceasefire. And that means that [07:15] there's a quid pro quo, and that there's [07:16] maybe some power sharing, a little bit. [07:20] Some version of Gaza's future with Hamas [07:22] in some form, maybe with a different [07:24] name, and maybe not quite Hamas, but [07:26] almost Hamas, used to be Hamas, [07:28] something like that [07:30] might remain in some form. And if Israel [07:32] doesn't accept that, Israel's choosing [07:34] war over peace. [07:37] Every link in that logic is broken. [07:40] Peace is not an agreement. [07:43] Peace means that there is no longer on [07:46] the other side [07:48] a an entity or a force that is actively [07:51] committed [07:53] to making war, to conflict, [07:57] to your annihilation in this case. [08:00] So, you don't achieve that by signing [08:03] something with that force. [08:06] You achieve it by removing that force [08:08] when you no longer have an enemy who is [08:11] actively [08:13] devoted to and seeking your annihilation [08:17] and is actively in and seeking conflict, [08:19] then you have peace. [08:23] A ceasefire that leaves Hamas in any [08:26] kind of power, [08:28] directly or indirectly, isn't peace. [08:31] It's a reload. [08:34] It's what Muslims call a hudna, which is [08:35] a temporary ceasefire while while you [08:38] strengthen yourself and get ready for [08:39] the next round. [08:42] Israel's already run this experiment for [08:44] decades, [08:46] kicking the can down the road with these [08:47] half measures. [08:50] Every round ended in more war and not [08:52] less, [08:54] because the thing generating the [08:56] conflict, the enemy who seeks conflict, [09:00] who seeks our annihilation, [09:02] was never actually dealt with. That's [09:04] what That's what Israel's trying to [09:05] accomplish post-October 7th is to [09:07] actually get to peace. [09:09] You see, [09:10] when Israel says no to a deal that [09:13] leaves Hamas intact in any way, [09:16] Israel isn't obstructing peace. Israel's [09:18] refusing to sign the [09:21] the [09:22] uh the guarantee that there will be [09:23] another war. [09:26] The people calling that obstruction to [09:28] peace [09:29] have actually redefined peace to mean [09:32] the fighting stops temporarily. [09:35] And I I refuse to accept that [09:37] definition. [09:38] Peace means the fighting stops [09:40] permanently. [09:42] And it only stops permanently [09:45] when Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad [09:48] and whoever is [09:49] hell-bent on destroying Israel [09:52] is not in does not have any ability to [09:54] act on that at all. That they don't [09:57] exist as a governing or armed force at [09:59] all. [10:01] Now, let's walk through the same logic [10:03] in the north in Lebanon. [10:06] Everybody everybody including the [10:08] diplomats who won't say it out loud, [10:10] everybody knows that Hezbollah is never [10:13] going to disarm voluntarily. It's not a [10:15] negotiating position they're holding [10:17] back for the right concession. [10:19] Hezbollah's weapons are Hezbollah's [10:20] entire reason for being. That's why they [10:22] were created. [10:23] Iran didn't build a Lebanese army [10:27] a Lebanese militia or [10:29] for with more firepower than most [10:32] national armies. [10:34] Iran didn't build this so we could hand [10:36] the fire that same firepower over in [10:39] some sort of diplomatic agreement to [10:41] disarm. [10:43] Asking Hezbollah to disarm through [10:45] negotiation is [10:47] absurd. [10:49] Their entire reason for existence [10:51] is to be a militia on Israel's border to [10:54] threaten Israel. That's why they were [10:56] created. [10:58] So the and everyone knows everyone in [11:00] Lebanon knows, the president of Lebanon [11:03] knows this, the prime minister of [11:04] Lebanon knows this, everyone knows that [11:06] the only path that actually ends [11:12] with Hezbollah not [11:16] the only path to peace [11:18] in Lebanon [11:20] is the complete disarming and removal of [11:22] Hezbollah. Everyone knows that. They [11:23] have to be defeated. [11:25] They can't just be managed or deterred [11:27] and left there. They certainly can't [11:29] have a weapon. [11:31] They have to be defeated. Everyone [11:33] realizes that. [11:35] The command structure has to be broken. [11:37] The weapons have to be seized and [11:38] destroyed. [11:41] The capacity to threaten Israel's north [11:44] must be ended because as long as [11:46] Hezbollah can threaten Israel's north [11:47] and does so, which they do every day, [11:50] Israel will continue to attack [11:52] Hezbollah. [11:54] In other words, [11:55] preservation of Hezbollah in any way is [11:57] the path to more war. [11:59] And watch what happens in the coverage. [12:01] Every Every single time Israel moves [12:03] towards that goal of defeating [12:04] Hezbollah, [12:05] it's not described as Israel pursuing [12:08] peace, it's described as Israel [12:10] escalating, as Israel risking a wider [12:12] war. [12:15] The word peace gets reserved once again [12:17] for the side that wants to negotiate [12:19] with the bad actors and stops short of [12:22] defeating them. Those are the peace [12:23] people, right? [12:25] The people who are in the interest of [12:26] peace are the ones who want to negotiate [12:28] with Hamas and negotiate with Hezbollah [12:31] and not remove them. [12:33] They're the ones who get the title of [12:36] being in favor of peace, but if you want [12:37] to fight Hezbollah and you want to fight [12:39] Hamas cuz you want to actually have [12:40] victory over them, you're called [12:42] anti-peace. [12:45] Let me say it plainly. [12:47] A ceasefire that leaves Hezbollah armed [12:49] is not peace. It is a pause with a [12:52] countdown clock. Real peace on Israel's [12:54] northern border requires Hezbollah's [12:56] actual defeat. And calling the [12:58] escalation against Hezbollah [13:00] war and the pause and and not fighting [13:04] Hezbollah peace [13:06] is the inversion that I'm talking about. [13:10] Let's Let's go to another level. Let's [13:12] go to the parent organization, to Iran [13:14] themselves, cuz that's where the logic [13:15] gets tested uh [13:17] uh [13:18] even more. It's the same logic though. [13:22] Iran The Iranian regime, the Islamic [13:24] regime, [13:25] is not a It's not a uh [13:28] a government that happens to sponsor [13:30] Hamas and Hezbollah as a foreign policy [13:32] hobby. [13:34] The regime's entire strategic [13:36] architecture, it's it's proxies, its [13:38] missile program, its nuclear ambitions, [13:41] it all exists to project the Islamic [13:43] revolution outward and eventually to [13:46] erase Israel from the map. [13:48] It's not my interpretation. That's their [13:50] own stated goal repeated at every Friday [13:53] sermon for the last 40 years. [13:57] You can't cut a deal [13:59] to make that go away. [14:02] You can't [14:03] put sanctions and hope that will go [14:05] away. [14:06] You can't have nuclear inspectors [14:10] and hope that that will go away. [14:13] You can buy a little time, but you're [14:14] not buying peace. Don't call it peace. [14:17] If you bought time, don't call it peace. [14:19] It's not peace. [14:20] The regime's objectives don't change [14:23] because there's some deal in place that [14:25] buys time where there isn't where there [14:27] aren't active hostilities. That's not [14:28] peace. [14:30] President Trump said it plainly, there [14:32] can be no peace in the Middle East if [14:33] Iran re-arms. Okay, he's right. [14:37] And the same sentence applies word for [14:38] word to Hamas re-arming and to Hezbollah [14:41] re-arming. The only way that these [14:43] threats actually end [14:46] is if the regime or entity generating [14:48] the threat no longer exists in a form [14:51] that can threaten anyone. [14:53] This is not a hawkish talking point. [14:55] It's just what solving the problem would [14:57] actually look like, what actually [14:59] require. [15:01] If you follow the logic to its [15:02] conclusion instead of stopping wherever [15:05] feels diplomatically comfortable. [15:07] So, here's my actual point and it's the [15:09] reason I wanted to talk about this [15:10] today. I'm really worked up over this. [15:16] There's a political camp [15:18] in Washington and in in European [15:20] capitals and the UN and the media. [15:23] There is a political camp echoed [15:26] yesterday by those eight [15:28] uh Muslim foreign ministries [15:31] that presents itself as the peace camp. [15:34] They're in favor of de-escalation. [15:37] They're in favor of dialogue. They're [15:39] always seeking a deal. [15:42] And therefore, they they wear the mantle [15:45] of peacemakers. [15:49] Right? Dialogue. [15:51] A deal. [15:53] Stop short of victory because victory uh [15:57] driving towards victory, what are you a [15:58] warmonger? That's maximalist. That's [16:00] dangerous. That risks widening into a [16:03] regional war. [16:06] See, but it's all backward. See, I want [16:08] to rename that camp. [16:11] That camp that is interested in dialogue [16:13] and de-escalation and coming to some [16:16] deals with the bad actors [16:18] that leave them in in power. [16:22] I think they have the wrong name. [16:23] They're not the peace camp. [16:25] They're the forever war camp. [16:28] Not by intention [16:30] but by consequence. [16:33] Every option they offer, a Hamas that [16:36] isn't really removed and survives in [16:38] some form and their weapons aren't [16:40] really removed. [16:43] A Hezbollah that keeps its weapons and [16:45] isn't fully removed. [16:48] A regime in Tehran that stays in power [16:50] under some new terms and maybe being [16:53] held under Trump's thumb for a little [16:54] while. [16:58] Battered but still intact. [17:02] These are not choices of peace over war. [17:06] If you end your your supposed conflicts [17:09] and Hamas is still there and Hezbollah [17:10] is still there and the Iranian regime is [17:12] still there, you haven't chosen peace. [17:16] You're choosing a [17:18] slower war. [17:21] Maybe a war with better PR. [17:24] You're choosing a longer war over a [17:26] shorter one that actually ends. [17:29] And the people that they call [17:31] warmongers, the ones who on on our side [17:34] saying finish the job, remove Hamas from [17:37] power entirely, defeat Hezbollah, end [17:40] the regime in Tehran, [17:43] we're the ones who are called [17:44] warmongers, but we're actually the ones [17:46] who have a plan to get to peace. [17:49] Escalate fast all the way to real [17:51] victory, and the war ends. [17:54] That's not bloodlust. [17:56] That's just paying attention to how this [17:58] actually played out over and over for [18:00] decades, going back to World War II. [18:02] What brought peace at the end of World [18:04] War II [18:05] was a victory, [18:07] unequivocal victory, [18:11] over Japan, over Nazi Germany. [18:14] That's how you get to peace. [18:16] You punish the bad actors, or you remove [18:19] them, [18:21] or you hold a credible threat of [18:22] removing them. It's got to be credible. [18:25] That's the whole doctrine. It's not [18:26] complicated. [18:30] You know, we just [18:32] we just let people swap out the [18:34] substance victory. [18:37] We no longer drive for victory, we just [18:39] look for de-escalation. But [18:40] de-escalation isn't victory. [18:45] You can't call that peace. [18:49] Now, there's one more thing I want to [18:49] talk about, and it connects to all of [18:51] this be [18:53] But it it's about us. It's not about [18:55] them. It's not about the the side that's [18:56] getting it wrong. It's about us getting [18:58] it wrong. [18:59] Turkey is one of the eight governments [19:01] that signed that statement yesterday [19:03] accusing Israel of obstructing peace. Is [19:05] it the same Turkey whose president [19:07] Erdogan [19:08] regularly talks about liberating [19:10] Al-Aqsa, our first Qibla, he calls it. [19:13] Like liberating Al-Aqsa from the Jews. [19:15] He He brought it up the other day, [19:17] couple days ago when he was meeting with [19:18] Abbas, he brought it up again. [19:22] And meanwhile, [19:23] Israel, which actually controls the [19:25] Temple Mount, the holiest site in [19:27] Judaism, won't even say out loud as a [19:30] matter of policy that this is a Jewish [19:32] place, that it's a Jewish holy site, and [19:35] that we have control over it. [19:37] So, instead, we we still [19:40] you know, we have restrictions on Jewish [19:42] prayer, we have restrictions on on [19:44] Christian prayer, we allow that to [19:46] continue. [19:47] We manage the ambiguity instead of [19:49] asserting the truth. [19:51] Or take another example, Joseph's tomb [19:55] in in uh in Shechem, [19:57] what's known as Nablus. [19:59] Joseph's tomb, Joseph, the biblical [20:01] Joseph. [20:02] His tomb sits there [20:04] in the middle of what's basically an [20:06] Arab town. [20:08] But for many years, there was the [20:11] there was a Jewish seminary there, a [20:12] yeshiva, there was a synagogue there. [20:15] But it gets [20:17] not anymore, and it gets vandalized and [20:19] torched with grim regularity, let's say. [20:24] And Israel does nothing about it. Israel [20:26] does not send in forces required to [20:28] actually protect this site. Not because [20:30] it can't, but because again and again, [20:32] the decision gets made that provoking a [20:34] confrontation over defending our own [20:37] sacred, historical, cultural, religious [20:40] site [20:41] is not worth it. [20:47] You can't expect the other side to [20:51] respect [20:52] your claim if you yourself won't fully [20:56] assert your claim. [20:58] If we believe [21:00] and I do, [21:04] if we believe [21:06] that this is our ancestral homeland, [21:09] that this is a fight between uh good and [21:12] evil, between a civilization that wants [21:14] to build and live, [21:17] and a movement [21:19] or a belief system that wants to destroy [21:21] us, [21:23] then we have to act like people who [21:24] believe that. [21:26] People can tell if you have conviction, [21:28] especially in this part of the world. [21:31] When you hedge, [21:33] they read hedging as weakness, and [21:34] weakness invites the next attack. [21:37] When you assert the truth plainly, and [21:40] you back it with the will to defend it, [21:43] that's what actually deters people. [21:44] That's what actually produces peace. [21:48] So, here's where I am on this. Stopping [21:50] short of victory is not an alternative [21:53] to forever war. [21:55] It is forever war. [21:58] You understand what I'm saying? Trying [22:00] to get to a deal with the Iranians [22:03] without removing them from power [22:05] is inviting forever war. [22:08] Trying to come to a deal in the Gaza [22:10] Strip that does not actually destroy [22:13] Hamas and remove them completely and [22:15] start fresh with a new type of [22:16] leadership there, unless you do that, [22:18] you are inviting forever conflict, [22:20] forever war. That's what you are You're [22:22] saying you want forever war because you [22:24] want to keep the status quo with the [22:26] people being educated the same way, [22:28] being led by the same terrorists. [22:30] You're embracing forever war. [22:34] Restraining Israel in Lebanon so that [22:37] Israel cannot completely clean out and [22:39] destroy Hezbollah once and for all, that [22:41] is inviting forever war. That's the [22:43] forever war camp. [22:48] Real peace in Gaza requires Hamas gone. [22:51] Real peace in Lebanon requires Hezbollah [22:53] gone. Real peace with Iran requires the [22:56] regime removed. [22:58] And real peace for Israel and the West [23:00] requires the conviction the conviction [23:03] to say plainly what we believe [23:06] about ourselves, about this land, about [23:09] history, about the fight that we're in, [23:11] instead of hedging every claim into [23:13] mush. [23:15] And and calling that compromise and [23:18] peace. [23:20] Peace through strength was never about [23:22] intimidating people into good behavior. [23:23] It's about winning. [23:27] And if you stop short of that, that's [23:29] forever war. That's the warmongers. [23:32] The warmongers are the ones who want to [23:34] negotiate and end up with the conflict [23:36] continuing. [23:39] That's what I wanted to get off my chest [23:40] today. I hope this made some sense to [23:42] you. [23:44] Please share it with someone. [23:46] Uh I think uh [23:48] I think these are important ideas and we [23:49] have to keep them in mind. [23:51] And we have to stay confident that we [23:53] are on the right path. We No more half [23:55] measures. We have to also pray that our [23:57] leaders remain strong and steadfast [24:00] and hold on to these principles [24:04] so that we don't end up [24:07] fighting these conflicts forever and [24:08] ever and ever, which is again, those who [24:10] negotiate, [24:11] those who advocate for stopping short of [24:14] victory and negotiating are the forever [24:16] war camp, not us. [24:18] Not us. Remember that. All right, God [24:20] bless. Thanks for watching.
