Prof. Kobi Michael: As long as Hamas remains in control and is committed to another Oct. 7, the American ceasefire framework will not get anywhere. You cannot build a stable peace with a partner that openly prepares for the next massacre. At some point, the United States will have to recognize that Hamas is the obstacle, not part of the solution. That will force Washington toward what he calls Plan B.
Israel has to give the Americans the time and space to try their way, so that the responsibility for the failure of the plan falls on Hamas. But in the end, I believe they will move to Plan B—securing the eastern Gaza Strip under IDF oversight, expanding it gradually to the west while crushing and dismantling Hamas if it continues to violate the agreement.
When Hamas tries, at the end of the day, it will get something through. The attempts themselves, including those the IDF has detected, show that the infrastructure is active now—not only historically. The real issue now is not weapons going out of the Strip, but those that keep coming in.
