Arab nations are getting wise to Hamas — even as others foolishly squeeze Israel

New York Post

a day ago

Most media ignored last week's most important Middle East development: Arab nations for the first time publicly slammed Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and demanded the terrorists surrender power, disarm, and release their hostages.
OK, it's a low bar. But it's progress, and a lot more meaningful than British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's threat to recognize a Palestinian state or the other maneuvering over Gaza's food crisis.
The landmark demands came in a seven-page declaration Tuesday by 17 countries, plus the European Union and the entire 22-member Arab League, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar.
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British Foreign Secretary David Lammy embraces Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa after Lammy spoke at a United Nations conference on July 29, 2025.
AFP via Getty Images
They reflect a willingness — finally! — to publicly acknowledge that Hamas' ouster is necessary to end the war in Gaza and thus ease the suffering of its civilians.
Hallelujah: We've stressed since Day 1 that the conflict can't end with Hamas in power; the group, after all, openly vows to keep attacking the Jewish state until Israel is destroyed.
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Perhaps the Gaza food shortages got the Arabs' attention — even if most reports misled readers by tacitly (or even openly) blaming Jerusalem for them.
Bigger picture: Nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, egged on by President Donald Trump, are now eager to normalize relations with Israel, though they want the Gaza fighting to end first.
Sadly, other parts of Tuesday's statement are as misguided as ever, calling for Hamas to 'hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State.'
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With Gaza then seeing 'the deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission upon invitation by the Palestinian Authority and under the aegis of the United Nations.'
The Palestinian Authority? The United Nations?
Neither is fit for real responsibilities: The PA is nothing but an autocratic kleptocracy that uses international-aid funds to enrich its leaders and to pay terrorists to kill Israelis; even clueless President Joe Biden insisted it would have to be 'revitalized' before it could play any role in Gaza.
UN peacekeepers, meanwhile, have never managed to keep peace anywhere in the Middle East; instead, the world body's presence — e.g., via groups like the UN Relief and Works Agency — has only fueled violence in the region.
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Even more brainless is Starmer's threat to recognize a Palestinian state, along with France and Canada's plans to do so next month, 'unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a cease-fire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution.'
Why no threats to Hamas if it keeps preventing food from reaching ordinary Gazans? How about insisting that it hand over its remaining Israeli hostages?
Look: Israel has already taken 'substantive steps' to aid Gaza's civilians, and has already agreed to numerous cease-fire plans.
Hamas rejects any cease-fire unless Israel agrees to let it keep power in Gaza, even as the terrorists block the peaceful distribution of food aid. It also refuses to release the remaining hostages, knowing that if it did, it would be its last act before total annihilation.
As for a 'two-state solution,' Israelis backed it (until Oct. 7, anyway); the problem is finding Palestinian leadership to agree to a deal that doesn't put Israel's future at risk.
So why is Starmer threatening Israel?
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Oh, and here's a reality check: The outside world can't actually summon a state into existence; citizens of a would-be nation must create it on their own.
Fact is, neither Britain, France, nor any other country can truly claim to care about Gazans unless they focus solely on the heart of the problem: Hamas.
That Arab nations are at last starting to admit that it is the most hopeful sign yet for peace.