By Bill Connor, Colonel, US Army (Ret)
Guest Editorial
Days prior to President Trump’s inauguration, Hamas took heed of Trump’s warning that “all Hell would break out” if Israeli hostages were not released. The first three female Israeli hostages were released a couple days before Trump took the oath of office. Four more female hostages were released just after the inauguration. Unfortunately, the ceasefire and hostage exchange deal with Israel also included the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners, including convicts of violent terrorist acts. The fragile peace agreement between Israel and Hamas has brought many to question the long-term viability of plan. Israel is negotiating with what’s left of Hamas, but will not allow Hamas to survive when it is over. President Trump has now suggested a resolution to the mess; Egypt and Jordan temporarily accept Gazan refugees to house while “we just clean out (Gaza)… It’s literally a demolition site now.”
As expected, the usual anti-Israel characters exploded over the idea, and Egypt and Jordan claimed they would not go along. To “Clean out” Hamas from Gaza in the interest of not only Israel and the United States, but the leaders of Egypt and Jordan.
After a year and a half of fighting Hamas, we realize the only way to fully purge Gaza of Hamas is by temporarily evacuating civilians. After the October 7, 2023 massacre of 1200 innocent Israeli men, women, and children, Israel has been hamstrung in fighting back. Hamas hides behind and under civilian hospitals, schools, and refugee camps. Casualty statistics provided by the Hamas run Health ministry have been exaggerated substantially. For example, the number of women and children reported dead by Hamas had to be cut in half in May 2024 due to Hamas lies. The presence of civilians protects Hamas and provides international leverage against Israel. It’s time for that to stop.
Destruction of Hamas is in the vital national interest of the surrounding Arab nations, including Egypt and Jordan, due to the Muslim Brotherhood ideology of Hamas. As described by the National Counterterrorism Center: “Hamas emerged in 1987 during the first Palestinian uprising, or Intifada, as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch. The group is committed to armed resistance against Israel and the creation of an Islamic … state in Israel’s place.” Hamas was declared an Islamic terror organization over two decades ago and is committed to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, including the vision of a worldwide Islamic Caliphate under Sharia (Islamic) law.
Egypt is uniquely threatened by the Muslim Brotherhood, which was created in 1928 by Egyptian Islamic scholar Hassan al Banna after the newly elected religious moderate President of Turkey, Kemal Atatürk, dissolved the 1400-year Islamic Caliphate. The Muslim Brotherhood’s aim was to re-establish an Islamic Caliphate under a Caliph and reject nation-states.
Egyptian officers, led by Gabel Nasser, led a coup against the Egyptian king in 1952, then suppressed the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Imprisoned with Muslim Brotherhood leaders in 1954, the renowned Islamic scholar, Sayyid Qutb, spent years writing “Signposts in the Road,” which clarified Islamic duties including Jihad. Qutb’s Signposts became a blueprint for the Muslim Brotherhood to undermine non-Islamist governments and further Jihad. This ideology spawned al Qaeda, ISIS and Hamas.
The Muslim Brotherhood, driven by Qutb’s writings, demands the end of current nation states in favor of the Islamic Caliphate under Shariah law. Under Shariah law, non-Muslims (called “Dhimmis”) are treated as legal inferiors to Muslims. They must pay a special “Jizya” tax and must submit to the supremacy of Islam. Under Shariah law, ex-Muslim Christians (or Jew) or missionaries faces the death penalty, while conversion to Islam is coerced. Women are made second-class citizens. Importantly, current Arab nation-state leaders not forcing Shariah law are deemed apostate and enemies of the Caliphate.
When Hamas came to power in Gaza, they immediately implemented Muslim Brotherhood ideology. Just one 2021 AP story shows the extent: “(Hamas run) Sharia Judicial Council, issued Sunday, says an unmarried woman may not travel without the permission of her ‘guardian,’ which would usually refer to her father or another older male relative.” Article 6 of the 1988 Hamas covenant calls for the complete annihilation of the Jewish State of Israel and replacement with the “banner of Islam over every inch of Palestine.” Article 13 claims: “There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility.” Article 7 exhorts: “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: ‘O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him.”
While he was president of Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi openly called Jews “sons of apes and pigs” and attempted to end Egyptian democracy for Shariah Law. Egypt’s current President al Sisi saved Egypt from the Muslim Brotherhood by overthrowing Morsi. Jordan has been through similar experiences facing groups like ISIS. These nations need to temporarily house Gazans until Hamas is cleansed from Gaza and the Muslim Brotherhood ideology is delivered a mortal blow. What happened October 7, 2023 must never happen again, which demands the end of Hamas for good.
Attorney Bill Connor
BILL CONNOR LAW FIRM, LLC
1408 RUSSELL STREET, SUITE 11, ORANGEBURG SC 29115
P 803-937-5571 | F 803-937-6647
