![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
Palestinians have once again shown that their real heroes, sadly, are those who carry out terrorist attacks against Jews and seek the elimination of Israel.
In May, student council elections for student councils were held at the two most important Palestinian universities in the West Bank: An-Najah University in Nablus and Birzeit University north of Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians. The two major student lists that ran in the elections are affiliated with Hamas, the terrorist organization controlling the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, the ruling faction headed by Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
The election results were no surprise to those familiar with the general sentiments among Palestinians: the Hamas-affiliated lists won most of the seats. For the 87-year-old Abbas and his Fatah faction, this was not only humiliating, but also a reminder that when it comes to dealing with Israel, many Palestinians prefer terrorism over diplomacy.
The election campaigns and debates at the universities focused mostly on the relationship between the Palestinians and Israel.
The students affiliated with Hamas, whose charter openly calls for the elimination of Israel, boasted that their group continues to carry out terrorist attacks in which Jews are killed or wounded. These students ridiculed their rivals in Fatah for not carrying out enough terrorist attacks against Jews.
The Hamas-affiliated students also condemned the Fatah-dominated P.A. for conducting security coordination with Israeli security forces in the West Bank. Any form of cooperation with Israel, they argued, is tantamount to treason.
The underlying message the Hamas-affiliated lists sent to the thousands of students at the two campuses was: Vote for us because we explicitly and unreservedly uphold the armed struggle against Israel and promise to continue the jihad (holy war) to murder Jews and replace Israel with a genocidal Islamist state, free of non-Muslims.
During election rallies at the two university campuses, Hamas supporters used banners and photos glorifying Palestinian terrorists such as senior Hamas members Mohammed Dief and Musab Shtayyeh, who are wanted by Israel for their roles in a series of terrorist attacks, including shootings and suicide bombings.
When the Hamas-affiliated Islamic Bloc learned that it had won the elections at Birzeit University on May 24, it announced that Shtayyeh, currently being held in P.A. custody for unknown reasons, will serve as “honorary president” of the student council.
Now that the two most important Palestinian university student councils are controlled by Hamas, the question is whether it would be a good idea to hold long overdue presidential and parliamentary elections for the P.A. in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The answer, unfortunately, is “no”—and certainly not under the current circumstances, where a majority of Palestinians are saying that they would vote for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh if and when new P.A. presidential elections were held.
It also would not be a particularly good idea to hold general elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip at a time when a majority of Palestinians are voicing support for an “armed intifada” (uprising) against Israel.
More than 70% of Palestinians, according to a public opinion poll conducted the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey, support the terrorist attack in which brothers, Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19, were cold-bloodedly murdered in March as they drove through the Palestinian town of Huwara on their way home. The poll also found that 68% of Palestinians support the formation of terror groups, such as the Lions’ Den, to attack and murder Jews.
Hamas is correct when it says that the results of the elections at the two universities are proof that most Palestinians support terrorism against Israel. Hamas said in a statement:
“This [Hamas] victory sends a clear message about the rising popularity of the resistance [against Israel]… The victory reaffirms our people’s adherence to the option of resistance.”
To be clear, when Hamas talks about the “resistance,” it is referring to various forms of terrorism, including suicide bombings, shootings, stabbings, car-rammings and rocket attacks.
Zakaria Abu Muammar, a senior Hamas official, said the victory of his group’s supporters at the universities “reflects the Palestinian youths’ confidence in Hamas and its plans.”
In case it was not clear what Hamas’s plans are, it is worth reading the group’s covenant, published in 1988 and which remains unchanged and as relevant as ever.
Article 11 of the covenant, for instance, underlines the strategies and methods of Hamas:
“The Islamic Resistance Movement [Hamas] believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered; it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president … neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that.”
Article 13 of the Hamas covenant urges Muslims to wage jihad on Israel and reject any peace initiatives:
“There is no solution for the Palestinian issue except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”
The victory of the Hamas-affiliated lists at the two Palestinian universities in the West Bank should serve as a warning not only to Mahmoud Abbas, but also to the international community, especially the Biden administration, whose representatives continue to promote the delusional and dangerous idea of a “two-state solution.”
It is a dangerous idea because it will lead to the establishment of a Hamas-controlled state next to Israel. Like the Gaza Strip, this state too would be used by Iran and its terror proxies as a launching pad to attack Israel.
It is time for the Biden administration, the European Union and the United Nations to wake up and see with their own eyes that the only solution sought by a majority of Palestinians is one that would deliberately lead to the elimination of Israel. The university students who voted for Hamas have endorsed Hamas’s call for jihad and terrorism against Israel. They have endorsed Hamas’s argument that Israel has no right to exist.
They have also endorsed the argument that no Palestinian or Arab leader is entitled to make any concessions to Israel.
The victory of Hamas supporters in the university elections is yet another reminder of how Palestinians have been raised to hate Israel and glorify those who murder Jews. For generations, Palestinian leaders have been poisoning the hearts and minds of their people against Israel and Jews. The high regard of Palestinian university students for an Islamist group such as Hamas is a natural consequence of this inter-generational hate-fest.
The officials in the Biden administration, European Union and United Nations who continue to talk about the need for a “two-state solution” are actually advocating the creation of another Hamas-led state, like Islamic State, this time in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. A similar state already exists in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, and is used as a launching pad to fire rockets into Israel.
The results of the recent university elections are a clear indication—and warning—that if all of the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem were ever handed over to the exclusive control of the P.A., they too would end up in the hands of Hamas, whether through elections or a violent and bloody coup like the one that took place in the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Hamas staged a coup, overthrew the P.A. and seized control of the entire Gaza Strip just a year after winning the P.A. parliamentary elections.
By voting for Hamas once again, Palestinians are sending a message to the world that they are determined to pursue terrorism and violence against Israel.
They are also sending a warning to Abbas and other Palestinian leaders not to make peace with Israel or work with it in any way, or else they will be treated as traitors—further proof, as if it were needed, that the Palestinians have yet again chosen violence, terrorism and misery rather than a bright, promising future, a better economy, and prosperity for their young.
Originally published by the Gatestone Institute.