Hamas may indeed be forced to accept the “peace” plan presented by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu today. It is a one-sided plan in Israel’s favor, however, and it does not guarantee that there will ever be a Palestinian state. Netanyahu continues to reject any Palestinian state, even though he has “accepted” Trump’s proposal that suggests that such a state is possible if certain unlikely conditions are, at some unspecified time, met.
It is ironic that the “Board of Peace” proposed to oversee the implementation of the Trump plan is to be chaired by Trump himself. This provision is meant to strengthen Trump’s case for receiving a Nobel Peace Prize. But Trump has supported Netanyahu with the ordnance responsible for flattening nearly all of Gaza. Trump deserves indictment for war crimes more than a prize for peacemaking.
The most Hamas-friendly provision of the Trump proposal is amnesty for Hamas fighters. On the other hand, Netanyahu presumably never expects to be held responsible for his own war crimes.
Hamas will not, I predict, accept Trump’s plan anytime soon.
It appears that a government shutdown will be upon us in just over 24 hours, as Senate Democrats seem unwilling to support the House’s continuing resolution. Withholding their votes on the budget is virtually the only leverage the Democrats have in the current Congress and with the current president. Many Democrats, myself included, have urged Senator Chuck Schumer to demand rolling back some of the provisions of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” But I am concerned that the Democrats are demanding only healthcare-related concessions. They should be making more demands. Having more demands makes getting at least something in any future compromise. The GOP, led by Donald Trump, will reject any compromise unless widespread public demand for it materializes. I am reluctant to make predictions about that.
Dolly Parton has announced that she is postponing her appearances in Las Vegas because of “health challenges.” I sincerely hope that her death will not come anytime soon, but the announcement made me contemplate losing a woman who can only be called a national treasure. Should that terrible thing happen during Trump’s term, Parton will not likely get flags flown at half staff or a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom, honors shown the supremely underserving Charlie Kirk. (I have called Kirk elsewhere a mendacious, heretical demagogue and a talented propagandist who was a menace to the Republic.)
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