In response to China’s increasing bellicosity, Japan embarked last year on its biggest military buildup since World War II. Tokyo could benefit in this endeavor, writes Gedaliah Afterman, from seeking a closer relationship with Jerusalem. There is ample room for increased trade between the countries as well:

A strategic partnership with Israel would allow Japan to strengthen ties with a likeminded country while also gaining access to the expertise of a global leader in key fields. The two countries have already taken steps toward collaboration with the signing of a preliminary defense-cooperation agreement last year during the visit of then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz to Tokyo.

Discussions are underway for more cooperation in several areas, including missile defense and unmanned aerial vehicles for intelligence and combat applications. Likewise, the two should strengthen and elevate cooperation and joint research in cybersecurity, an area that straddles high technology and defense.

Bringing together Israel’s leading high-technology sector—which has demonstrated continued resilience and leadership amid the recent social unrest in the country—with Japan’s manufacturing capabilities and expertise could provide a strong basis for a mutually beneficial partnership. Israel can also offer Japan support on the energy-security front. Earlier this month, Israel’s H2Pro announced it had reached a deal to provide equipment for new Sumitomo Corporation green hydrogen-production facilities.

In contrast to China’s ambivalent approach to the [Abraham] Accords, Japan can leverage its strong ties with the signatories to strengthen regional cooperation and help bring further countries, such as Kuwait, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, to the table. Doing so will enhance Japan’s position in the Middle East and position Tokyo as a central player in promoting peace and stability in the region.

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.