Since the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the public burning of the American flag along with pictures or effigies of President Trump have become commonplace in the West Bank and Gaza. After his recent visit to Jerusalem, Vice-President Pence has been subjected to the same symbolic treatment. Bassam Tawil explains that these demonstrations do not take place without official imprimatur:

Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders and officials set the tone, while ordinary Palestinians take to the streets to express their hatred of the U.S. . . . [Recently], activists in a refugee camp near Bethlehem held a mock trial for Trump and Pence. . . . The “court” found [the two] guilty . . . and they were sentenced to death by hanging. The court also ruled that the bodies of Trump and Pence would be burned after their “execution.” . . .

Strikingly, this event took place inside a refugee camp that is run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), just outside a school run by UNRWA. . . . More interesting still is that members of PA president Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction participated in the mock trial. . . Such a display of hatred and encouragement of violence against American leaders could never have taken place without the approval of Abbas. . . .

Once again, Palestinians are being taught by their “leaders” that, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars they receive annually from the U.S., they are meant to disgorge murderous venom at America. In fact, the mock trial and execution of Trump and Pence gives a green light to Palestinians physically to target Americans. . . .

The U.S. and other Western countries would do well to take the Palestinian campaign of threats and incitement extremely seriously—and to counter these threats. Submission to this intimidation will simply result in even more intimidation, more violence, and more threats.

Ron Ben-Yishai explains Hamas’s current calculations:

Strategically speaking, Hamas is hoping to add more and more days to the pause currently in effect, setting a new reality in stone, one which will convince the United States to get Israel to end the war. At the same time, they still have most of the hostages hidden in every underground crevice they could find, and hope to exchange those with as many Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners currently in Israeli prisons, planning on “revitalizing” their terrorist inclinations to even the odds against the seemingly unstoppable Israeli war machine.

Chances are that if pressured to do so by Qatar and Egypt, they will release men over 60 with the same “three-for-one” deal they’ve had in place so far, but when Israeli soldiers are all they have left to exchange, they are unlikely to extend the arrangement, instead insisting that for every IDF soldier released, thousands of their people would be set free.

In one of his last speeches prior to October 7, the Gaza-based Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar said, “remember the number one, one, one, one.” While he did not elaborate, it is believed he meant he wants 1,111 Hamas terrorists held in Israel released for every Israeli soldier, and those words came out of his mouth before he could even believe he would be able to abduct Israelis in the hundreds. This added leverage is likely to get him to aim for the release for all prisoners from Israeli facilities, not just some or even most.