While it is little surprise that Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan came in at the bottom of the UN’s annual ranking of the world’s happiest countries, more surprising to anyone getting information from the Western press or the United Nations itself is the fact that “the Palestinian territories”—i.e., the Gaza Strip and the Arab residents of the West Bank—ranked 110th out of 156. And this from a report that omits nearly 30 UN member states, among them North Korea, that would most likely fall toward the bottom of the list. Hillel Frisch comments:

[T]here appears to be more relative happiness among the [Palestinian] population than in an assortment of Middle Eastern states, some of which are among the most vociferous in their condemnation of Israel’s “occupation” of the Palestinians. Energy-rich Iran, for example, ranks seven slots lower on the happiness index than the Palestinian Territories. Even less happiness prevails in Egypt, whose regime frequently initiates UN condemnations of Israel’s “occupation.” Egypt is close to the bottom of the list at 138, significantly lower than the Palestinians. . . .

It is the comparison with Jordan, [however], that occasions the greatest surprise. If Israel’s “occupation” is so onerous, how come the happiness rate in Jordan is only slightly higher than that of the Palestinians? . . . Jordan, with a ranking of 101, is only nine slots higher than the Palestinian Territories. [Note] that the ranking aggregates Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza [and that] the former has higher income levels than are found in the latter. Were the ranking to differentiate between the two, Palestinians living in the West Bank could plausibly generate a score at least equal to that of Jordan, where there is no “Israeli occupation.”

The real tragedy the index exposes is that of Tunisia, not the Palestinians. Tunisia is the only country from the so-called “Arab Spring” to have in any way met the expectations of those that gave the uprisings that name. Since the ouster of the old regime in December 2010, Tunisia has successfully changed its constitution, held three free elections, and . . . is the only country in the Arab world to be designated as “free” by Freedom House, a think tank that ranks democratic and human rights. Nevertheless, despite these achievements, Tunisia ranks lower in happiness than the Palestinians, with a ranking of 125.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.