[TrumpCard]

Politics. Hamas is essentially a creation of Israel and the United States, intended to wrest power from Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Israel provided financial and military support to Sheikh Yassin, who was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. An unintended consequence was that when Palestinians were able to choose their own leaders, they elected Hamas. This was a big surprise: an "oh, sh**" moment.

Palestinians have been hell bent on the destruction of Israel since well before Israel ever declared independence.  They fought against Israeli independence and in every war against Israel since that time.  The Palestinians have supported terrorist organizations from the time of Israel's inception. The PLO, which seems like a group of angels compared to Hamas, hijacked airplanes full of civilians.  Yassin's existence deserves maybe a line in the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  To the extent he'd be mentioned, it would be for the fact that Israel assassinated him decades ago after multiple attempts on his life, which were after he spent years in an Israeli prison.  The paragraph about Yassin above is fiction.

Way forward: only one path can lead to peace, and that is an ironclad resort to first principles: (i) no one may ever initiate the use of force against another and (ii) everyone should butt out except for the peoples of Israel and Palestine. Others have to stop using both countries as proxies. There is no outside solution. Aggression will solve nothing. Leaving the two antagonists alone will force them to negotiate and work out a peaceful relationship that can last for years.

First, we should start a campfire and sing Kumbaya.

[TrumpCard]

Politics. Hamas is essentially a creation of Israel and the United States, intended to wrest power from Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Israel provided financial and military support to Sheikh Yassin, who was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. An unintended consequence was that when Palestinians were able to choose their own leaders, they elected Hamas. This was a big surprise: an "oh, sh**" moment.

Palestinians have been hell bent on the destruction of Israel since well before Israel ever declared independence.  They fought against Israeli independence and in every war against Israel since that time.  The Palestinians have supported terrorist organizations from the time of Israel's inception. The PLO, which seems like a group of angels compared to Hamas, hijacked airplanes full of civilians.  Yassin's existence deserves maybe a line in the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  To the extent he'd be mentioned, it would be for the fact that Israel assassinated him decades ago after multiple attempts on his life, which were after he spent years in an Israeli prison.  The paragraph about Yassin above is fiction.

Way forward: only one path can lead to peace, and that is an ironclad resort to first principles: (i) no one may ever initiate the use of force against another and (ii) everyone should butt out except for the peoples of Israel and Palestine. Others have to stop using both countries as proxies. There is no outside solution. Aggression will solve nothing. Leaving the two antagonists alone will force them to negotiate and work out a peaceful relationship that can last for years.

First, we should start a campfire and sing Kumbaya.