Mike Waltz, the new national security adviser for the Trump administration, said in an interview on Sunday with the TV news program “Face the Nation” that “Hamas will never govern Gaza. That is completely unacceptable.”

This declaration should be a guiding principle for the international community and the future of Israel’s security.

Waltz also assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if Hamas reneges on its commitments under the current ceasefire deal, the United States will fully support Israel in doing what is necessary to finish the job. This kind of clarity is refreshing, particularly given the murky waters of international diplomacy where terror organizations like Hamas have long exploited ceasefires to rearm and regroup.

At the same time, conflicting statements have emerged. Trump told NBC News that the ceasefire “better hold” while Waltz informed hostage families that the United States will ensure all stages of the deal are implemented.

Here’s the fundamental contradiction: Hamas will not accept a ceasefire that removes it from power in Gaza. Yet the Trump team is promising that Hamas will never govern Gaza again. How can both conditions coexist?

The reality is stark: Either Israel will be forced into accepting some rebranded version of Hamas, disguised as an international governing entity, or it will need to re-enter Gaza. If it does, it will need to remain there permanently to ensure that Hamas and its terror infrastructure are eradicated since there is no other solution to ensure that the coastal enclave remains demilitarized forever with no chance of turning into a threat to Israel.

For decades, international players have deluded themselves into thinking that Arab self-rule in Gaza is the path to peace. However, the events of Oct. 7, 2023, shattered this illusion. The barbaric involvement of Gaza’s noncombatants in the massacre of Jews and the celebration by those in the streets of Gaza as the hostages were paraded around show the depth of Hamas’s genocidal indoctrination in the whole population.

Even now, mobs in Gaza celebrating the ceasefire are chanting, “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya Yahud,” a reference to the massacre of Jews by Muslim forces in the seventh century. This isn’t political resistance. This isn’t about an “occupation” or any other reason parroted by the international media without fact-checking. This is a religiously inspired genocide against the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel.

We’ve heard the same rhetoric from Arab women in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria that we are hearing from Hamas. Mothers who proudly declare their desire for their sons to become “martyrs” while raising children on hatred for Jews. The ideology isn’t confined to Hamas fighters; it’s woven into the fabric of society.

The time has come to face an uncomfortable truth: Arab self-rule in the Gaza Strip, and in Judea and Samaria has failed. It has been a breeding ground for terror, not peace. No international force or rebranded governing body can change that reality.

That is the true implementation of Trump’s “peace through strength” doctrine. Only then will our enemies finally internalize that terror against the Jews and Israel does not pay.

This isn’t just about Israel. Any diplomatic solution that allows Hamas to remain in any capacity poses a danger not only to Israel but to the United States and the freedom-loving world. Hamas is part of the global Qatar-funded Muslim Brotherhood Islamic jihad, and its survival sends a message to terrorists everywhere— that patience and brutality work in its jihadi march to destroy the freedom-loving world.

Waltz’s promise that “Hamas will never govern Gaza” is a beacon of hope, but it must be more than words. The Trump team must stand firm and understand that any outcome other than Israel’s full control over Gaza endangers not just Israel but the entire free world.

As Americans, Israelis and supporters of freedom everywhere, we must hold the Trump administration accountable to its promises. If Hamas reneges on this deal—and history tells us they will—we must ensure that Israel has the full support it needs to finish this war, once and for all. The world can no longer afford to tolerate the evil of Hamas and the ideology it represents. The time for clarity, strength and action is now.

Let us pray for the freedom of all of the hostages and for the day when Hamas, the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood, the Shi’ite Republic of Iran and their genocidal ideology against all infidels are nothing more than a dark chapter in history.

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Romi Gonen, who was released from Hamas captivity on Sunday, thanked the people of Israel for their support and prayers overnight Tuesday in her first social media post in over 471 days.

"There is life after death," she wrote on Instagram.

Sharing a picture of the reunion with her mother, Gonen expressed her gratitude to "the people of Israel, to family, to friends."

"The prayers and strength you sent accompanied us the entire way and helped us believe that this nightmare would eventually end," she wrote.

"We must remember that there are 94 more hostages who are simply dying for us to save them," Gonen noted. She concluded her message with, "Am Yisrael Chai ['the people of Israel live'], and with God's help, we will continue to receive good news in the coming weeks."

https://twitter.com/HenMazzig/status/1881976467942167026

Gonen, 24, and the other two released hostages, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were handed over by Hamas to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night as part of an Israeli ceasefire agreement with the terror group.

Following an initial medical examination at the Israel Defense Forces reception point near the Gaza border and their subsequent transfer to a hospital via helicopter, Tel Hashomer General Hospital Director Dr. Yael Frenkel Nir told local media that the women’s physical condition was good enough to allow them to focus on reuniting with family members.

Damari took to Instagram on Monday, thanking her family, friends and God for her release. "I have returned to life, my loved ones," she wrote.

"I have only managed to see just a tiny bit of everything, and you have exploded my heart from emotion. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am the happiest person in the world, just to be," Damari added.

Damari lost two of her fingers when she was shot by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023, kidnapping from her home in the border community of Kfar Aza.

In a Channel 12 News report vetted by Israel's military censor and approved by the hostages that was published on Monday, the three captives recalled living in underground facilities with little medical attention, tremendous uncertainty and, at times, despair.

Ninety-four hostages remain in captivity, 30 of whom are to return to Israel in the coming weeks during the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The remaining 64 hostages are to be released in the second and third phases, according to a schedule that has yet to be announced.

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An Israel Defense Forces officer who lost his right arm fighting against Hamas in Gaza was among the four people wounded in Tuesday's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv.

The officer, an armored corps captain identified only as A., told Israel's Channel 12 News that the terrorist, a 29-year-old Moroccan citizen with permanent residency status in the United States, had tried to stab one of his friends.

A. pursued the terrorist to incapacitate him, sustaining minor injuries to his left hand, he told Channel 12 at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, from which he is expected to be discharged soon.

"I look forward to returning to the company commander course tomorrow and continuing as usual," he said.

The terrorist was shot and killed by security forces at the scene of the attack.

One of the victims was admitted in moderate-to-serious condition and rushed to an operating room to be treated for a stab wound to the neck, Ichilov Hospital said late Tuesday night. Another victim was moderately wounded, and two suffered light wounds.

The assailant entered Israel as a tourist just days earlier and reportedly arrived in central Tel Aviv on a motorcycle together with a second suspect who fled the scene.

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The foreign national who wounded four people in a terrorist stabbing spree in Tel Aviv was initially denied entry to Israel, but security officials overruled that decision, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said on Tuesday.

"I commend and appreciate the border inspectors of the Population and Immigration Authority, who recognized [the threat] and had sought to prevent the entry into Israel of the terrorist of the Tel Aviv attack in real time upon his arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport on Jan. 18," stated Arbel.

According to Arbel, the terrorist was "transferred for questioning to security officials, who unfortunately allowed him to enter Israel."

He urged Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Ronen Bar "to probe this serious incident and draw lessons from it as soon as possible."

The Israel Security Agency subsequently issued a statement confirming that it was investigating, noting that the assailant "underwent a security assessment that included interrogations as well as additional checks, at the end of which it was decided that there was no data that would establish grounds to prevent his entry into Israel for security reasons."

The attacker, a 29-year-old man identified via an ID card found on his person, was reportedly a U.S. permanent resident born in Morocco. He was shot and killed at the scene by Israeli security personnel in the area.

Israel's Channel 12 reported that the terrorist was in the United States on a DV-1 visa, suggesting that he obtained a Green Card in the Diversity Visa Program that U.S. President Donald Trump has attempted to end.

Israel's Ynet news outlet said the terrorist, identified as Kaddi Abdelaziz, had shared anti-Israel content on Facebook. In one post, he reportedly accused the Jewish state of starving civilians in northern Gaza, claiming that half a million Palestinians were "at risk of dying from hunger."

Abdelaziz also shared a video praising Islam accompanied by the slogan "Free Palestine," as well as a photo of slain terrorist Ibrahim al-Nabulsi.

Following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacre, Abdelaziz was said to have shared a post referring to the terror attack as a potential reason for "doubling the number of martyrs for Islam." His Facebook profile was deleted shortly after his identity was first published in the media.

The U.S. State Department told Ynet on Tuesday night that it was "aware of the reports" that a Green Card holder was involved, and conveyed "its deepest condolences to the victims and the families of all those injured."

The Jewish state was admitted to the U.S. government's Visa Waiver Program in September 2023, making Israel the first Middle Eastern nation with reciprocal, visa-free travel to the United States.

Jerusalem had sought acceptance into the Visa Waiver Program for decades. One of the issues holding up its admittance had been the requirement that Israeli authorities treat all U.S. citizens equally, including Palestinian Arabs who hold American citizenship.

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The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime—brought about by Syrian opposition forces with Turkey’s backing—has created an unprecedented opportunity for Ankara to redefine its role as a regional power in line with its broader Neo-Ottoman aspirations. By championing the Sunni opposition and dismantling the Alawite-led regime, Turkey has succeeded in shifting the Mideast balance of power, installing in Damascus a regime dependent on Turkey and curbing the influence of rivals such as Iran and Russia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy has also been driven by Ankara’s attempt to contain the emergence of Kurdish autonomy or statehood, which, in Turkish eyes, would have a destabilizing effect, threatening the territorial integrity of Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

Ankara envisions a comprehensive role in Syria’s reconstruction and governance, leveraging its Neo-Ottomanist vision to establish lasting cultural, economic, and military influence.

For years, Erdogan faced harsh criticism at home for his interventionist foreign policy in Syria. This criticism stemmed largely from the influx of Syrian refugees, which, according to official figures, surpassed 3 million people. However, Erdogan refused to alter his stance. On the contrary, he adopted a Pan-Islamist approach, consistently emphasizing the importance both of hosting Syrian refugees as an expression of Islamic brotherhood and maintaining Turkey’s military presence in Syria.

It is crucial to note that even during the critical 2023 general election campaign, Erdogan did not change the stubborn approach that had already shaken his government’s political stability. For the first time in his political career, he failed to secure victory in the first round of elections, largely due to Turkey’s faltering economy. However, the electorate did not separate economic issues from the Syrian civil war. The Syrian refugee issue—which fueled xenophobia and rising unemployment—along with the rising costs of sponsoring a deadlocked war, were seen as the reasons behind the deterioration of the economy. This was Erdogan’s Achilles’ heel. Yet, against all odds—and partly due to the Turkish opposition’s failure to unite behind a charismatic leader such as the mayors of Istanbul or Ankara—Erdogan once again managed to secure political survival.

Today, with the regime in Syria ousted, Erdogan’s popularity is soaring. His supporters portray him as “the conqueror of Syria.” Unsurprisingly, Neo-Ottoman rhetoric has become a prominent feature of public discourse. Both mainstream institutional media and Erdogan’s propaganda outlets frequently reference Ottoman history to emphasize Turkey’s organic ties to Syria.

These media outlets not only highlight the historical fact that the Turks dominated the region for 402 years but also seek to deepen the Turkish public’s connection to Syria by invoking the armed struggle of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. In 1918, as commander of the 7th Army, Ataturk fought the British on the “Palestine front.” The emphasis on Ataturk’s battles, along with his view that Syria and “Palestine” were integral parts of the Ottoman-Turkish homeland, aim to win over nationalist and secularist segments of Turkish society is support of Erdogan’s Neo-Ottomanist foreign policy.

Turkish authorities have already transformed Mustafa Kemal’s former headquarters in the Syrian city of Afrin into a pilgrimage site adorned with Turkish flags and portraits of Ataturk. As Ankara seeks to persuade the Turkish public to embrace an expanded Turkish presence in Syria, turning the country into a new Turkish-Ottoman style province makes it easier for the government to justify its ambitious investments.

The blueprint for this policy is evident in the significant statements made by Turkey’s transportation and infrastructure minister, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, on Dec. 24. When asked about Turkey’s potential investments in a post-Assad Syria,  the minister stated that, just as the administration provided essential humanitarian aid, goods and services for the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquake victims in Turkey, Ankara is now delivering all necessary support to Syria—as if the country were already part of Turkey.

This Turkish modus operandi is also visible in other regions where Turkey has already established a presence. The minister declared Turkey’s willingness to build, repair and equip Damascus and Aleppo airports with radars—which could also serve military purposes. In addition, Turkey will most likely provide mobile phone networks and electricity infrastructure to address Syria’s needs in these sectors.

Furthermore, as an administration deeply connected to Ottoman heritage, Uraloglu emphasized Ankara’s ambition to revive Sultan Abdulhamid II’s Ottoman Hejaz Railway to establish a direct line between Istanbul and Damascus. Syria’s new Transport Minister, Bahaddin Sharma, endorsed the project and described the construction of the Gaziantep-Aleppo line as the first step.

Uraloglu also drew attention to Syria’s poor highway infrastructure and the strategic importance of highways during wartime. In this context, he stressed the significance of the M4 and M5 highways and signaled plans for constructing new bridges and highways to meet the needs of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. These new highways will be designed according to the strategic priorities of the Turkish chief of staff—a clear indication of Turkey’s long-term objectives in Syria.

According to reports in the Turkish and Arab media, Turkey also intends to expand its military presence in Syria. In addition to existing deployments in northern Syria, particularly in the Afrin, Jarabulus and Tel Al-Abyad cantons, Turkey now seeks to establish new army bases in various locations, especially in Damascus and Tartus. Arab sources have said that the future Turkish military presence in Syria is also intended to deter Israel from taking unilateral actions in the country.

Turkish ambitions in Syria appear to extend beyond the territorial. Uraloglu noted that Turkey plans to sign a maritime delimitation agreement to conduct hydrocarbon seismic research with the new Syrian government to maximize its own interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. This treaty will most likely be shaped at the expense of the Republic of Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and territorial waters as defined by the European Union's “Map of Seville” which is based on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

As part of its “Blue Homeland” naval doctrine, Turkey rejects the UNCLOS provisions referring to every island’s right to declare its own continental shelf i.e., 12 miles of territorial waters and an exclusive economic zone. In 2019, Turkey signed a maritime delimitation agreement with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA), challenging the E.U.-backed maritime claims of Greece and Cyprus. Therefore, the new agreement with Syria is likely to further undermine the legitimacy of UNCLOS and the Map of Seville.

The signing of the treaty can only be delayed if the European Union invests in Syria’s reconstruction, as E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged to the Turkish president during her visit in Ankara on Dec. 17 last year.  

In conclusion, the fall of the Assad regime and Turkey’s involvement in shaping post-war Syria signify a shift in the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. Through its assertive Neo-Ottomanist policies, Ankara has sought not only to dismantle the Alawite-dominated regime and counter Iranian and Russian influence but also to become the primary architect of Syria’s future—provided that Qatari-E.U. reconstruction money is channeled via Turkey. Turkey aims to extend its sphere of influence and consolidate its position as a regional power in line with Ottoman legacy. The proposed maritime delimitation agreement, the emphasis on infrastructure development and a deepening military presence all signal Ankara’s ambition to entrench its influence in the region.

This strategy, while bolstering Erdogan’s domestic image, also presents significant challenges, particularly for neighboring states and above all for Israel and the Republic of Cyprus. In this context, Jerusalem must proceed with great caution. While maintaining close relations with the Hellenic states, the Jewish state should do everything possible to avoid turning Turkey into an active enemy while simultaneously safeguarding its freedom of operation in Syria without making any concessions. This is a challenging task, but not an impossible one.

Originally published by the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.

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Jerusalem's ongoing counter-terror operation in the northern Samaria city of Jenin marks a change in Israel's security strategy in the area, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

Katz visited the military command post in the area of the IDF's Menashe Territorial Brigade on Tuesday to monitor the progress of the operation.

"'Operation Iron Wall' in the Jenin refugee camp will be a shift in the IDF's security doctrine in Judea and Samaria," the defense minister stated in remarks published by his office on Wednesday morning.

"A high-intensity operation to eliminate terrorists and the camp's terror infrastructure—without the resurgence of terror into the camp once the operation ends—is lesson number one from the method of repeated raids in the Gaza Strip," the statement continued.

"We will not allow the arms of the Iranian octopus and radical Sunni Islam to endanger the lives of the [Israeli] residents and establish an eastern terrorist front against the State of Israel," Katz added, vowing, "We will strike hard at the arms of the octopus until they are severed."

On Tuesday night, an unnamed senior security force told the Channel 14 News broadcaster that the large-scale campaign against Iranian-backed terrorist groups in northern Samaria could take months.

"When it ends, the terror camps will cease to exist. What we did in Gaza, we will do to them as well; we will leave them in ruins," the source said.

The Israel Defense Forces announced in a statement on Wednesday morning that it "attacked terrorist infrastructure from the air, hit multiple terrorists and destroyed explosive devices in Jenin."

"Over the past 24 hours, the forces have hit more than ten terrorists. In addition, air strikes were carried out on terrorist infrastructure in the area and many explosive devices that terrorists had planted on roads were destroyed," the IDF stated. "The forces continue the operation."

According to the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health, at least nine people were killed by Israeli security forces in Jenin throughout the day on Tuesday, and more than 40 were said to have been wounded.

The Ynet outlet reported that the Israel Defense Forces carried out a drone strike on a Jenin terror cell that was in the process of planting explosive devices.

"Operation Iron Wall" includes the IDF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers and Border Police, according to an army statement on Tuesday.

Hebrew media reported that four IDF battalions were participating in the operation, amounting to several hundred ground troops.

The IDF entered Jenin immediately after P.A. police left the area, according to Arab reports. Earlier this week, it was reported that Ramallah struck a deal with the Iranian-backed Jenin Battalion terror coalition, ending a rare month-long P.A. operation in the city.

Israeli ground forces entered the city with the stated goal of preserving Jerusalem’s ability to swiftly act against terrorist groups in Jenin, known among Palestinians as the “Martyrs’ Capital” due to the significant number of suicide bombers that have emanated from the area.

The Israel Hayom daily reported that the counter-terror raid was first planned for December, but postponed at the request of the political echelon after the P.A. launched its Jenin operation.

"At the direction of the Security Cabinet, the IDF, Shin Bet and Israel Police today launched a large and significant military operation to eradicate terror in Jenin—'Iron Wall,'" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

"This is another step towards the goal we have set—strengthening security in Judea and Samaria. We are acting systematically and resolutely against the Iranian axis wherever its arms reach—in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria," the PMO added.

In August, while serving as Jerusalem's foreign minister, Katz called for "the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required" amid an uptick in terror attacks emanating from Jenin.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is working "to establish an eastern terrorist front" in Judea and Samaria, charged Katz, following its proxy model in Lebanon with Hezbollah and the Gaza Strip with Hamas, by "financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan."

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As the ceasefire agreement went into effect over the weekend, Hamas terrorists—now wearing uniforms and green headbands, no longer disguising themselves as civilians—emerged from their multimillion-dollar tunnels, held their weapons high and rode through the streets of Gaza in fully fueled vehicles.

Actual civilians also were out on the streets celebrating. In online videos you can see that they’re well-fed and energetic. Many have cell phones and some carry fancy cameras.

Ask yourself: Do these people look like victims of genocide?

On Sunday, 23-year-old Romi Gonen, 28-year-old Emily Damari and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher—Hamas’s hostages for 471 days—were shoved into Red Cross vehicles while an angry mob pressed in. Some taunted the women, waving guns.

You’ll recall that Hamas never allowed Red Cross representatives to visit the hostages. You’ll recall that Red Cross officials never vociferously complained.

If you’ve been following these events in most media, you probably didn’t hear a translation of what many in the streets were chanting: “Jews, remember Khaybar, where Muhammad massacred the Jews!”

For those whose grasp of history is shaky (graduate students in Middle East studies at Harvard, Columbia and Penn?), I’ll explain: This was a reference to the Battle of Khaybar, 628 C.E., when Jewish tribes living in an oasis in what is now Saudi Arabia were wiped out by the first Muslim army.

There are those saying this deal is a step toward peace. They’re sadly mistaken.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official in Qatar, vowed upon signing the ceasefire agreement: “We will proceed on the path of the martyred leaders until we achieve victory or martyrdom, Allah willing.”

He called the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel and the massacre that followed a “military miracle” and a “source of pride.”

Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed that the Tehran-supported “resistance” had forced Israel to “retreat.” His Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hailed the deal as “a clear victory and a great victory for Palestine and a bigger defeat for the monstrous Zionist regime.”

Ask yourself: Does it sound like Israel’s enemies are interested in a two-state solution?

Of the 251 hostages abducted on Oct. 7, fewer than 100 remain in captivity, seven Americans among them. Hamas has not revealed how many hostages are still alive and how many they’ve murdered.

Hamas is to release another four hostages next weekend, then three per week until, at the end of the first phase of the deal, 33 hostages have been repatriated.

In exchange, in addition to suspending hostilities, Israel on Sunday released from its prisons 90 terrorists who had been serving time for various bloody terrorist acts.

Most Israelis, according to the polls, see this agreement as bad but necessary—a deal with the devil, as I’m not the first to say.

The redemption of captives is not a new idea for the Jewish nation. “Let my people go!” is how Moses expressed it to Pharaoh in Exodus. To bolster his argument, Moses added: “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel.”

What should be most disturbing from an American perspective: This deal defines diplomacy down.

Alan Dershowitz provides an apt analogy: “Would you call it a deal if somebody kidnapped your child, and you ‘agreed’ to pay ransom to get her back? Of course not. The kidnapping was a crime. And the extortionate demand was an additional crime.”

Hamas is not a legitimate negotiating partner with grievances that deserve to be addressed and differences that can be bridged.

The first phase of the deal is to last 42 days. Aid will flow into Gaza in even larger quantities than it has over the past year. Hamas will steal and sell much of it at a profit.

Hamas’s supporters on American campuses will continue to insist that Gazans are victims of Israeli oppression and cheer Hamas.

For the deal to move into a second phase—which would include extension of the ceasefire, release of the remaining 61 hostages, and Israel freeing almost 2,000 convicted terrorists in total—will require that negotiations not break down. It’s not difficult to imagine why they might.

Hamas’s goal is to resume power in Gaza, get the “international donor community” to write big checks for reconstruction while U.N. agencies provide Gazans with social services including education accredited by the Muslim Brotherhood. That would leave Hamas free to begin planning new atrocities.

Israel’s goal is to bring home as many hostages as possible and ensure that never again does a terrorist army rule Gaza.

Ask yourself: Is there any way to satisfy both Hamas and Israel’s goals?

And is it not both immoral and demoralizing for American diplomats to prod the citizens of a free and democratic ally to compromise with openly genocidal Islamic supremacist terrorists?

I’ll end today’s column with three pertinent facts—not opinions—that most of the media consistently neglect.

One: On Oct. 6, 2023, Gaza was not occupied. No Israelis lived there. No Israeli soldiers patrolled there.

Two: Gaza was not then an “open-air prison” as Hamas manipulated the media into reporting. Gaza had hospitals, schools, libraries, malls, supermarkets, restaurants, a zoo and sandy beaches. Members of Gaza’s elite lived in villas with swimming pools and could come and go via neighboring Egypt.

Three: Hamas leaders could have brought a halt to this war at any time over the past 15 months by simply releasing its hostages and laying down their weapons.

Ask yourself: Who is responsible for the death and destruction on both sides—in the past and, in all probability, in the future?

If you know the answer, you also know that it won’t be through ceasefires and deals that this long war is brought to a conclusion.

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45 and 47.

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Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin and former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar recently unveiled a revamped proposal for the reform of the Israeli judiciary, including the Judicial Selection Committee. Predictably, opponents of any changes accused the authors of “undermining judicial independence, separation of powers, and checks and balances.” As before, it appears that opponents either do not understand what “judicial independence” and “separation of powers” mean, or, worse yet, they do understand it, but purposefully attempt to mislead the public. The Levin-Sa’ar proposal does nothing to undermine judicial independence, and it improves (albeit, not by much) the separation of powers, and the checks and balances.

Let’s begin with “judicial independence.” Judicial independence means that judges, once appointed, will be able to decide cases according to the law and answerable only to their conscience and God. In other words, an “independent” judge is one who does not have to fear being fired or having his salary diminished as a result of rendering an unpopular decision. Nothing in the Levin-Sa’ar proposal impairs this understanding of judicial independence. The proposal does not give Israel’s political actors the ability to remove judges who rule against powerful interests or to diminish their salaries. If Israeli judges are independent in their decision-making today, they will remain equally independent under the proposal.

Critics assert that giving political actors more control over judicial appointments will undermine judicial independence. But “judicial independence” has nothing to do with who gets appointed or how they get there. Until someone is appointed, he is not a judge, and the “judicial independence” doctrine has no applicability to them. The critics say, however, that if lawyers know they were appointed because of political deals, they will attempt to repay those political favors by consistently ruling in favor of the government.

The problem with that argument is two-fold. First, there is no evidence for such an assertion. For example, in the United States, federal judges are appointed exclusively by political actors, yet once appointed, they consistently rule against their benefactors. For example, all three U.S. Supreme Court justices appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term in office rejected his claims regarding the 2020 election. Similarly, both justices appointed by then-President Bill Clinton rejected his attempt to evade a civil lawsuit by Paula Jones.

In Israel, much the same is true. For example, there were fears that Avichai Mandelblit, once appointed attorney general, would be too subservient to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because of his prior political roles in Netanyahu’s government. The exact opposite happened—Mandelblit was so independent that he (rightly or wrongly) indicted the prime minister. Similarly, when then-Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked pushed for the selection of now-Justice Alex Stein, the critique was that would not be independent because he was a “political choice.”  Yet, Stein has consistently ruled against the Netanyahu government.

The second reason that the critics are wrong is the unwarranted assumption that, under the current system, potential candidates for judicial nominations need not curry favor with anyone and are appointed on an “objective” basis. It is somewhat naive to believe that only “political” members of the Judicial Selection Committee care about politics, and other members care only about “professionalism.”

The Israeli Bar Association members have views, whatever they may be, as to politics and judicial philosophy. So do the judges who are the members of the selection committee. Anyone hoping to be appointed to a judgeship needs to be politically “in tune” with those members of the committee. Meaning, if it's true that judges selected by politicians will be forever obligated to those politicians, then it is equally true that the judges selected by members of the bar will be obligated to those factions in the bar, and judges selected by the chief justice will be obligated to that chief justice. And if the latter is not true, neither is the former.

Looking at the “separation of powers” and “checks and balances,” the Levin-Sa’ar proposal marginally improves the situation at hand. Again, “separation of powers” does not mean each branch operates independently of each other. If that were so, no government could operate, because actions of one branch would not affect another. What separation of powers means is that the judicial branch should be doing the judging, the Knesset the law-making and the Cabinet should be executing those laws.

The current judicial selection system is the exact opposite of the separation of powers. The powers of the Israeli Supreme Court, the Cabinet and the Knesset are intermingled together, instead of making their own best judgment about the appropriate way forward having to compromise with every other branch. (Not that there is anything wrong with compromise per se, but the system doesn’t “separate” the powers, and, if anything, undermines judicial independence because the court’s representatives have to offer something of value to the politicians for politicians to agree to some of the court’s proposed candidates).

The same with “checks and balances.” To be clear, “checks and balances” are important in a democratic country, and there is nothing necessarily wrong with the concept of judicial review even in a parliamentary system. Under the current system, the court certainly serves as a “check” on the government. (Some may say too much so). But what serves as a check on the court? In the American system, appointments by a popularly elected president with confirmation by the U.S. Senate provide some long-term checks. In Spain, four out of 12 Constitutional Court judges are appointed by the Congress of Deputies, four by the Senate, two by the Cabinet and two by other judges. Thus, various political actors exercise a “check” on the court through appointments (though judges remain independent once appointed). In contrast, in Israel, judges wield a veto over all the Supreme Court nominations, and when it comes to lower courts, politicians’ votes may not matter at all. Thus, in Israel today, there is no “check” on the power of the judiciary.

The Levin-Sa’ar proposal will create at least a small check. It’s not perfect and is quite timid, but it is an improvement on the current system.

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