I listen to Amir but I also try to listen to a lot of other Israeli sources. The Bible talks about not making up your mind on something until you hear the other sides, and generally big issues have multiple sides.
I like to listen to someone like Olivier Melnick or David Tal
- YouTube as in this one where both these men bring up some very pertinent questions to do with this situation.
or Tom Hughes such as this interview with Alex Traimann of JNS
- YouTube same subject, slightly different nuances.
or JNS
- YouTube
or Israel 365
- YouTube
The sources said that “only Muslims can disarm Hamas,” while Western countries can take part in training the police forces and provide humanitarian aid
www.i24news.tv
ALL of the above containing a much more in depth analysis of what is going on.
starting at the 5 minute or so mark when Amir begins on the 20 pt plan, history. Prior to that he mentions 2 other important things- the problem with Lebanon, and a visit by Netanyahu to southern Syria but says he'll discuss later. I'm just sticking to the 20 point peace plan.
5:35: he says 6 weeks prior that Trump came up with the peace deal and Israel was on board right away. Yes to both, but there is an important back drop to that. QATAR- who is actually talking to Hamas as the intermediary between Witkoff/Trump and Hamas. Qatar who gave a jet to Trump, bailed out Witkoff, entered into huge lucrative business deals with the Trump family.
That gets important for later, keep that in mind, also keep in mind that Qatar is not exactly operating in good faith here- they supply the funds to Hamas, they also fund the campus anti semitic demonstrations so they aren't a neutral party. Nor are they neutral where Trump and his family are concerned or Witkoff. There is plenty of sources online who have tracked the business deals, the jet, the rescue of Witkoff's bad properties etc.
The Israel 365 link above contains probably the best analysis of where this breaks down because of where this intersects with the UN:
Qatar may have actually said one thing to Hamas but another to Trump. Point 19 in fact Hamas says they did NOT agree to that, nor was that shown to them. If they are telling the truth (highly unlikely but still) then the problem lies with Qatar.
- YouTube The Israel 365 guy gets right down to the real issue, here's the blurb for this video:
"The UN Security Council just passed a resolution everyone online claims “paves the way for a Palestinian state.” But that’s not the real threat. In this video, I break down why the loudest voices—on both the right and the left—are completely missing the point. The real danger has nothing to do with the recycled language about eventual Palestinian statehood. That part was already in Trump’s own 20-point Gaza plan. The actual crisis is buried deeper: the resolution quietly hands responsibility for disarming Hamas to a new International Stabilization Force, something that every major Arab actor has already said they will never do.And that single shift changes everything. If Hamas refuses to disarm, Israel can no longer act based solely on its agreement with the United States. Now, any Israeli attempt to finish the job could be labeled a violation of a binding UN Security Council resolution—effectively handcuffing the one country actually willing and able to neutralize Hamas.
Meanwhile, Qatar, Turkey, and others are thrilled to let this process drag on until Hamas survives intact. In this video, I lay out exactly how this happened, why this resolution is strategically dangerous, and what the coming weeks will mean for Israel, Gaza, and the region."
Me again:
Qatar has basically given Hamas a pathway to survival in the Gaza Strip. No they don't want a 2 state solution, they wanted the UN to get involved though, and it's this ISF, International Stabilization Force to look at.
I HIGHLY recommend everyone to listen to the Israel 365 guy on this topic. Is he right? I don't know for sure, but he makes some very good points.
I think the 2 State plan in the hands of the UN is also dangerous.
The ISF won't disarm anyone if they are made up of Arabs, an Arab will NOT do that even if they are on the ISF, they will work against that. Remember Qatar is the one who has been funding HAMAS using Iran and other sources of cash to buy weapons, to smuggle cash in to Hamas, to allow Hamas to grab all the AID coming into the strip, and sell it to their own people for more cash.
To quote the Israel 365 guy:
"Qatar, Turkey, and others are thrilled to let this process drag on until Hamas survives intact."
FWIW the i24 news article linked above explains the ongoing vagueness about the ISF- and it's starting to sound like it will have to consist of Arabs. Lines up with Israel 365 guys point!
Always look at who benefits- where the money goes, but also where power and control go because money isn't the only benefit here. Qatar is the key, look where their money went- to Hamas, to campus riots in favour of Hamas, to Trump's family, to Witkoff, to the jet they gave Trump. Why would they suddenly change tactics and become a friend of Israel? They haven't! They are buying time for Hamas, and making sure this lands in the UN control for future reference.
I think I made a point somewhere here or on another thread that expecting the same Arab nations who created the mess to police the mess might be akin to having the fox guard the hen house but in this case lots of foxes.
Carrying on with Amir
7:34 Amir makes the point that Hamas is a nobody anymore, that these Arabic nations that voted with Trump (and are listed within his tweet on X) which include Qatar and Turkey, are now the allies of the West. Turkey is a NATO ally, but Qatar and Saudi Arabia have a special status with the US that entitles them to US support and protection when attacked. Qatar got that recently when Israel attacked Hamas in their capitol.
In less than a minute Amir brings up this ISF (International Stabilization Force) and points to it as a good thing. On the surface it is. But who IS the ISF???? That is yet unspecified. The Board of Peace needs to appoint them. Amir is glossing over a HUGE HUGE PROBLEM
Western diplomatic sources: Only Arab and Muslim nations should send forces to Gaza - i24NEWS
But these very allies are the ones who formerly used Hamas as their puppet. Now they get to help "control" Hamas. And proof that they voted with the USA at the UN on this plan is not proof that Hamas is done being their puppet.
8:20 Trump heads up the Board of Peace, good thing, no problem with that. agree with Amir mostly- but I assume health and full term. If something happens to Trump that BOP might be a big headache for Israel. Even so Trump only has another 3 years of power left.
Around the 10 minute mark Amir points out that Gaza doesn't get their 2 State till after they lay down arms and agree to recognize Israel as a nation. Highly unlikely so we are safe right? (I agree with Amir here)
BUT
We are still back at the problem with bringing the UN into the mess, pardon me, agreement.
And again this is presuming Trump stays in good health (hope and pray he does) till his term is over.
But what next??? I know that Trump was talking about Nigel Farage as being on that board, and that is good, Nigel is another friend of Israel.
But how long does this board serve, and who replaces them as they age out or die or get sick or resign?
Do they end up answering to the UN? To the US Govt?
Do you all remember Nancy Pelosi demanding that first people had to SIGN the agreement for healthcare (Obamacare) and then and only then could they READ what they just signed????
Yeah, I do. And I distinctly recall that everyone pointed out how stupid it was to sign something first, THEN find out what you signed onto.
How is this different?
Yes we all got the concept of the 20 points.
But did we think to ask who exactly will this ISF group be? The ones tasked with getting weapons out of Hamas hands, policing the Gaza inside the Yellow Line. Did we get a good clear idea of exactly who besides Trump is on that Board of Peace???
Yeah, didn't think so. Yet the whole plan rests on the integrity of these as yet unnamed people who are going to be appointed to this task. Do they answer to any elected official?
No, didn't think so!
In other words, we have an unspecified Board of Peace (BoP) with an unspecified ISF (Internatl Stabilization Force) answerable to nobody elected, but is now subject to the UN because it became a binding UN Security Council Resolution, also subject to nobody elected.
And THAT spells GLOBALIZATION!!!!
Something that struck my eye when they first started talking about a group of technocrats ruling in Gaza. Sounded to me like a globalist experiment. On an area of Israel that that George Bush forced Israel to give up.
12:07 and Amir says now the Saudi's can't complain that there is no pathway to peace and a 2 State Solution.
Now we come to the visit of MBS the crown prince of SArabia - and we find out that his price to join the Abe Accords is--- ta daaaaa a "CLEAR PATH TO A 2 State Solution.
But didn't we just get that the day before at the UN when this thing went thru?????
Well sounds like he wants a Clearer path. Clearer than the UN thingy the day before.
How MUCH clearer does it have to get before Israel realizes that maybe this isn't such a great idea. Especially given that the guy bargaining for them is Trump who has repeatedly said Israel can't control the so called West Bank area - which as Amir points out is not the 2 state under discussion here, but if we add up the fact that Israel can't exercise control over their own territory in the area of Judea and Samaria AND they've lost sovereign control over Gaza, then you have Obama's suicide borders that Israel can't live with.
edited to add, so now the Saudi crown prince is investing a trillion $ in the US, and wants a little better deal for his cherished 2 state idea, a little better than what was just signed at the UN. And that is his price for signing the Abe Accords. Classic Middle Eastern bargaining technique! for the Saudi point of view see this:
- YouTube by Joel Rosenberg (Sheba and Dedan stuff)
How much control does Trump have over Israel's sovereign territory? Technically he doesn't, but in practice he is able to tell Netanyahu what he can and cannot do. That gets problematic. Even though it's a friend, even though it's Trump. Even though thru their trust of Trump this has landed at the UN. Even though Trump's relationship with Qatar has muddied the waters. Even though Qatars relationship with Hamas is a problem.
There's a lot of conflict of interest in this situation. Too much in my opinion.
Now Amir gets down to brass tacks at the 13 minute mark or so when he asks just who is capable of disarming Hamas when the tunnels are still largely intact, they are refusing to disarm etc.
He rightly points out that only Israel has that capability. Not some ISF group (although that agreement with the UN will bite Israel in future!!!!) but Israel.
Here's where we get back to the Problem the Israel 365 guy points out. The UN Security Council Resolution means the UN can object if Israel goes back in. Especially if it happens when Trump is gone from power at any point. Which he WILL BE at the end of his term. And none of us can guarantee our life and health to continue especially as we age. This just kicks the can down the road, but adds the danger of the UN to Israel's near future.
Onto another area I see trouble with. The economy - of Israel. Paying thru the nose each time they have to go in and fix what they weren't allowed to finish.
Israel is getting ready to go back in for the umpteenth time. I'll say it again, every time Israel is forced out of Gaza because Hamas sounds ready for peace (like every other time in the past 2 years that the IDF has had to back off because a US president asked or forced them to) they LOSE MONEY! Armies run on money. Tax dollars.
When we ask Israel to do this over and over and over again to prove a point that Hamas is untrustworthy, who pays the price????? ISRAEL does.
The same country that was invaded in Oct of 23. Trump asked nicely and Biden simply withheld weapons, ordering them to comply. But either way doing something multiple times just gives the enemy time to recoup, and it the costs multiply.
That country has been thru a lot. Their export economy has suffered over the past 2 years and their tourism is WAY down. Every soldier called up for service is not available in the work force. Tax revenue will be down due to the war, while war costs rise, and duplication of effort over and over and over is an unnecessary expense.
But they keep getting asked to do that by the US.
Onwards with Amir to the F-35's and Saudi Arabia. There's a lot to unpack with that one too. There is a clause that Israel has with the US that I'm blanking on right now about not giving Israel's potential enemies the same tech as Israel buys. Amir mentions the F-35s but doesn't say that clause that I'm blanking out on, I agree with his take.
However there is a lot more to it that JNS gets into here:
- YouTube
24:29 and Amir brings up Lebanon. I'm not covering that although I'd like to at some point. It is a picture of what is already going sideways with this plan only that one didn't involve the legalities of the UN as a resolution. This does. That is what Amir glosses over somewhat.
I want to talk about the Arms AID agreement between the US and Israel too at some point. Instead I'm just going to point people to this video
- YouTube
And remember when I recommend a video, you can go to the description box, hit the Transcript button and look for the auto generated transcript to read with time stamps so you can jump around inside a video as you wish. Think of it as a souped up fast forward button.
I'm tired. It's 3:30 pm, I haven't had lunch yet so I'm calling it a day. I'll check in tomorrow if I'm up for it. I've had a pretty strenous week for me so I might just be resting. On Sunday I have to be ready for the entire family - we are getting together as a family on what would have been George's 75th birthday. Out at son and dil's place.
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