Israel will change its Gaza strategy by putting an end to its negotiations with Hamas and pursuing total victory via military force, just as the U.S. did in World War II, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday.
“I think President Trump has come to believe, and I certainly have come to believe, there’s no way you’re going to negotiate an end of this war with Hamas,” the senator said in an interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
“Hamas is a terrorist organization, chartered to destroy the State of Israel. They’re religious Nazis. They hold Israeli hostages,” he added.
Graham said that Israel has “come to conclude that they can’t achieve a goal of ending the war with Hamas that would be satisfactory to the safety of Israel and that they’re going to do in Gaza what we did in Tokyo and Berlin—take the place by force, then start over again, presenting a better future for the Palestinians, hopefully having the Arabs take over the West Bank and Gaza.”
The American lawmaker continued, “I think going forward, you’re going to see a change in tactics; a full military effort by Israel to take Gaza down like we did in Tokyo and Berlin.”
Trump said on Sunday that Israel will have to make a decision on the next steps in the war on Hamas, adding he did not know what would happen after the terrorists blew up the ceasefire negotiations.
“You know, they had a routine discussion the other day and, all of a sudden, they hardened up,” he said of the talks, speaking alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland.
“So Israel’s going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters. “I know what I do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say, but Israel is going to have to make a decision.”
Accusing Hamas of stealing “everything,” including humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians, Trump described the coastal enclave as a “mess.
“The Gaza Strip, you know, was given many years ago so that they could have peace,” said Trump, referencing Jerusalem’s 2005 pullout from the area. “That didn’t work out too well when Israel gave that up,” he added.
When asked on “Meet the Press” if the hostages can return alive if Israel ends negotiations, Graham said that he hopes so.
“I think there are people, maybe in the Hamas organization, that would accept safe passage if they release the hostages. If I were Israel, I’d make that offer to Hamas fighters: You can leave safely, we want our hostages back,” the senator relayed.
“But here’s the problem Israel has,” he continued. The Jewish state is “losing soldiers, four and five a week. I hope and pray the hostages come back. Hamas could end this tomorrow by laying down their weapons and releasing the hostages. There’s no future for the Palestinian people as long as Hamas is around,” Graham said.
“All I can say is that you’re going to see, I think [in] the next few days and weeks, a military effort to destroy Hamas akin to what we did in Tokyo and Berlin to destroy the Nazis and the Japanese.”
