PELONI: The Trump administration has no basis for being angered over the situation in Gaza. They have set up the entire situation with a sliding deadline to have Hamas disarmed entirely, only to change the entire situation so that Hamas will be disarmed piecemeal, which was in turn changed a month ago to Hamas being disarmed within a month’s time which is being delayed further while blaming Israel fundamental failures existing in the 20 Point Plan. Notably, the ineffectual manner in which this substantive aspect of Trump’s 20 Point Plan, which is literally Point #1 to be implemented in the plan, has only served to demonstrate that Trump’s plan lacks the means by which to force Hamas to be disarmed. Hence, it is Hamas which has earned the anger which Kushner and the Trump administration are instead aiming at Netanyahu, as if he were responsible for the failing principles included in the Trump’s own 20 Point plan, when the truth, according to Kushner, is that this flawed plan was forced on Netanyahu as a consequence for the Qatar strike on Hamas.
BoP source claims assassinations of Hamas leaders ‘will not get rid of Hamas’
| Published: September 17, 2026
The current Israeli strategy of targeted assassinations of Hamas commanders and terrorists involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks “will not lead to the elimination of the organization,” a source close to the Board of Peace (BoP) says.
“The government’s policy is targeted assassinations, while leaving Hamas with its army and its rule,” the BoP source told i24 News’ Hebrew edition.
“The Board of Peace wants the complete dismantling and elimination of Hamas. Israel is eliminating individual Hamas members, but not Hamas itself,” the source claimed.
The remarks come amid a lack of progress in the Gaza Peace Plan put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump, who is also the chairman of the BoP.
The BoP announced in July that Hamas had agreed to disarm; however, Hamas has claimed that such disarmament is conditional on the full withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip.
Israel maintains that the original peace agreement calls for the full withdrawal only after the disarmament of Hamas, and together with the entry of the International Stabilization Force (ISF), which is not yet ready to take on the role of policing the Gaza Strip.
In the meantime, as the two sides remain firm in their positions, the IDF has continued carrying out targeted assassinations of Hamas commanders and terrorists involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of southern Israel.
Two days ago (Tuesday), the IDF struck in northern Gaza and eliminated the terrorist Sharif Shadi Ibrahim Labad, a Nukhba terrorist in Hamas’ military wing.
The terrorist infiltrated through the Erez Crossing during the October 7 Massacre, advanced terror attacks against Israeli… pic.twitter.com/ZZjBlaQsK4
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 17, 2026
Notices of such killings have been released by the IDF on a near-daily basis over the past couple weeks, despite a request by the U.S. to only strike in the event of imminent danger.
The Israeli government says it is keeping its promise to bring all the terrorists involved in the Oct. 7 attacks to justice. Although frequently, the IDF does claim that some of the terrorists are actively involved in plans to carry out attacks against its soldiers in the Yellow Line.
?ELIMINATED: 3 Terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad who advanced shooting and explosive attack plans against IDF troops.
Recently, the terrorists advanced attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops in systematic violation of the ceasefire. The terrorists were… pic.twitter.com/wmaGL8TXE5
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 16, 2026
Washington is reportedly upset after Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Hamas was not going to be disarmed, and that Israel would have to do so by force, before implementing a plan of voluntary migration.
“We all understand that this is not going to happen – and the IDF is prepared, once given the directive to eliminate Hamas, to finish the job so that we can also implement the migration plan,” Katz said in response to criticism from political challenger Ofer Winter.
Katz, along with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have championed a voluntary migration plan for Gazans to leave the enclave, heading to countries willing to receive them. Katz has referred to a poll from earlier this year, which found that around 80% of respondents were interested in leaving Gaza.
Both politicians have claimed that many countries are willing to receive immigrants from Gaza, although no countries have publicly made such a statement.
Earlier this month, Katz claimed that Israel was waiting for approval from the U.S. to begin a voluntary migration program, claiming that most Gazans were eager to leave.
A senior Trump administration official challenged Katz’s words in a statement to public broadcaster Kan News.
President Donald Trump is “committed to the full implementation of the 20-point plan, including the disarmament of Hamas.”
The official said that Washington remains committed to the disarmament of Hamas, despite the delay in achieving that goal.
The official also reaffirmed the Israeli understanding which calls for Hamas to disarm before the IDF withdrawal.
“Israeli forces will withdraw, and an international stabilization force will work with the Palestinian police to assume responsibility for Gaza and ensure it becomes a safe place for its residents and its neighbors,” the official said about the plan for Gaza after Hamas’ disarmament.
According to Channel 12 News, Hamas has decided not to respond to the IDF targeted killings in order not to give the Israeli government an excuse to resume military operations inside of the Hamas controlled territory.
That report came just days after a survey by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC) found that only 13.3% of Palestinian respondents in Gaza and the Palestinian territories in Judea and Samaria, support armed resistance as the best way to handle the conflict with Israel.
The poll also found that a slight majority (50.1%) of Palestinian respondents believe the Oct. 7 attacks harmed the Palestinian cause. Slightly more (55.8%) said they viewed negotiations as the best method for achieving Palestinian national interests.
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It seems that Kushner and Witkoff believe their efforts as mediators will succeed in getting Hamas to voluntarily disarm. There is zero chance of that happening. So what makes these otherwise sophisticated men so out of touch with reality? I think if they face the truth, that Hamas members truly hate them and feel contempt for them as Westerners, they will realize there is nothing they can do. That would mean the Board of Peace also will be a failure, something they and President Trump thought of as a signature global improvement. It’s possible they cannot believe the truth, because they would leave empty handed and all the potential Gaza deals worth billions go up in Hamas’ smoke.
Is it Kushner and Witkoff who can’t face the truth or is it Trump who cannot face the truth? These are people with a high success rate in life, but they aren’t infallible, they are human.
I think success in Gaza can only be reached by (1) facing the truth about Hamas and (2) working with, and supporting Israel in vanquishing Hamas. Until they are ready for those two steps, death and destruction for Israelis and Palestinian Arabs will continue in Gaza.
Does disarming mean no cars to ram with, no knives to stab with, no frozen lamb chops to club with?
“Israeli ambassador to Washington says doctors ‘fighting to save life’ of son after car-ramming attack”
“Neria needs a miracle,” Yechiel Leiter wrote of his son, who was seriously injured on Wednesday.
https://www.jns.org/news/israel-news/israeli-ambassador-to-washington-says-doctors-fighting-to-save-life-of-son-after-ramming-attack
Q: “stabbing intifada”
Google AI: “The “Stabbing Intifada” (also commonly referred to as the “Knife Intifada” or the “Intifada of the Individuals”) refers to a 2015–2016 wave of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Characterized primarily by uncoordinated, “lone-wolf” attacks, the period lasted roughly from September 2015 through June 2016, with concentrated violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank…”
So Israel is yet again blocking the peace process.
Hamas will not disarm willingly. They have said this many times and most recently they again required the 15 point plan they produced themselves to be implemented, which includes amongst others, compensation for the damage caused during this most recent war and more goodies they do not deserve. Somewhere in all that mess, the original 20 point plan was “lost” and absolutely nobody is considering compensating Israel for the thousands of missiles fired indiscriminately into Israeli territory.
They think they can hold out for ever if Israel does not resume military operations in the strip.
As long as our ally USA insists on blocking Israel, the only recourse is to continue with the elimination of Hamas leaders.
Of course, the rest of the world would like to show that they too are blocking the Israeli activity, as if this gives them something to be proud of.
On the other hand, they would love to punish Israel for fighting a war in self defense while letting the terrorists off the hook. What abominable hypocrites they are!