Chicago Tribune Editorial ‘Death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar offers golden opportunity to halt Middle East suffering’ is nonsense 

 
It is preposterous for the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board to state that the Israeli killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar offers a “golden opportunity to halt Middle East suffering.

 
Israel can kill two Hamas leaders, ten, a hundred and not defeat Hamas’ resistance to Israeli genocidal ethnic cleansing designed to acquire and develop Gaza for Israeli settlement.

 
That’s not just my opinion. It’s that of top Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, who said last June “The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish, that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public. Telling the public that there will be no terror in Gaza, no military.operatives, no rockets and no armed men is a lie. There will be terror in Gaza. Hamas is an idea, deeply rooted in the hearts of the residents of Gaza." 

The Trib Board believes that the death of one Hamas leader could lead to peace. But Israel’s stated intention and year long destruction of Gaza to cleanse it of Palestinians ensures there will never bring peace without an end to the genocide in Gaza and creation of a Palestinian state.

 
The Board sees Sinwar’s death as offering hope that the remaining 97 Israeli hostages in Gaza will come home alive. But every action Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack ensures they will only becoming home in a box, if they are even still alive.

 
Israel may have put itself in a death spiral when it decided to exploit the Hamas attack to ethnically cleanse Gaza. It finds itself facing blowback from Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and most ominously, rocket attack from Iran in retaliation for Israeli bombing there.

 
The Board implores President Biden to “Rev up Air Force One. Maximize U.S. influence. Pick up the crucial Egyptians on the way. Have the Qataris ride shotgun.” The Board should have demanded that Biden quit supplying over $18 billion in US weaponry that is obliterating tens of thousands of Palestinian moms and kids.

 
Internally, the ethnic cleansing campaign has been disastrous for Israel. Tourism is down 80%. Foreign investment fell by 18% in the first half of 2024. Thousands of small businesses are closing. Israelis are leaving Israel permanently in record numbers.

 
Internationally, Israel has become a pariah state. In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967 is illegal and Israel must withdraw its military forces and settlers from all those territories. In September, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution giving Israel one year to complete that withdrawal. If Israel refuses the Security Council or General Assembly may take stronger measures, including an international arms embargo, economic sanctions or even the use of force.

 
Israel’s weapons suppliers are beginning to follow international law which prohibits arms shipments to nations using them to destroy a civilian population. Canada, France and the Netherlands have set a fine example which President Biden has shown no intention of following.

 
Regarding golden opportunities, Benjamin Netanyahu got one with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Instead of negotiating the release of 245 Israeli hostages, he exploited the attack to implement his dream of acquiring Gaza for Greater Israel. He’s likely now ruefully pondering that wise aphorism, ‘Be careful what you wish for…you might just get it. That, and not the death of Yahya Sinwar is the tarnished golden opportunity the Board should editorialize about. 

Walt Zlotow West Suburban Peace Coalition