Last week, the American vice president traveled to Israel to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders; his arrival coincided with multiple terrorist attacks, one of which left an American citizen, Taylor Force, dead and several Israelis wounded. Khaled Abu Toameh writes:

Biden arrived in the region hoping to persuade the Palestinian leaders to issue a “condemnation” of the reign of terror [that began in October], which they continue to describe as a “popular and peaceful uprising.” . . . The Palestinian president, [in response], offered “condolences” over the killing of a U.S. citizen in Jaffa the previous day, . . . “while stressing at the same time that the occupation authorities [sic] have killed 200 Palestinians over the past five months,” according to a statement released by the PA leadership. . . . Abbas is doubtless also upset because Israel has killed Palestinian stabbers and shooters.

[Yet just] before Biden arrived in Ramallah, Abbas’s Fatah faction praised the murderer of Force, calling him a “martyr.” Fatah was quick to delete the posts to avoid embarrassing the Palestinian leadership during Biden’s visit.

It seems, [then], that the murder of an American visitor is condemnable, but the murder of some 34 Israelis since last October, including a pregnant woman and [numerous] civilians, is somewhat less so. . . . But Abbas explained everything to Biden: Israel was in fact fully responsible for the “violence and bloodshed” because of the “occupation” and “settlements.” . . .

While Abbas was busy offering his condolences for the killing of the U.S. citizen, his ruling Fatah faction was busy glorifying Palestinian assailants who killed Israelis.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.