Will Europe Save Hamas in Gaza? I recently met with a high-ranking European official from a country deeply involved in the Israel and Palestine file to discuss Gaza’s future and immediate options for relieving civilians trapped under Hamas’s grip. I presented a simple proposal: create safe zones across the "Yellow Line" into the Israel‑controlled green zone and support new, organized, secure, Hamas‑free communities where Gazans could finally begin rebuilding their lives. Whether the issue is humane living conditions, deradicalization, education, healthcare, or shielding civilians from both Hamas or Israeli strikes, the green zone is the only place where meaningful action is possible. Instead of engaging, the official launched into a long monologue about their country’s contributions to the Palestinian Authority, UNRWA, and other institutions, all while insisting on their own “humility” as a faraway European nation. Then came the truly alarming part: a casual normalization of Hamas. The official proudly described how easy it had been to work with Hamas before October 7, praising the group for providing “excellent security” and being “easier to work with than others.” What they called pragmatism was, in reality, a twenty‑year pattern of enabling a violent terrorist organization responsible for immense civilian suffering. When I explained that any Hamas‑free zones would require vetting at the Yellow Line to prevent weapons or operatives from entering, the official reacted with shock. “This vetting would violate international law,” they repeated, insisting that their country could not fund projects with any checks on who enters. I noted the absurdity: I had undergone extensive vetting just to enter their country, and even this building, yet they believed Hamas fighters should be able to walk into new civilian safe zones unimpeded. Their only response was vague appeals to “international law,” which, in their interpretation, seems to require allowing terrorists to hide among civilians. The meeting ended on an even more surreal note. When the official asked what would happen to Hamas fighters left in the red zone, I said I didn’t care; they could fight the Israeli military on their own all they wanted once they no longer held two million civilians hostage. The official lamented that “this isn’t the old American West” and expressed concern for what would happen to Hamas without human shields. Disgust doesn’t begin to describe my feelings and reactions. I left convinced of something long suspected: Hamas’s twenty‑year rule was sustained not only by its own brutality but by an ecosystem of NGOs, donor nations, Western European governments, journalists, academics, activists, lawyers, and even self‑styled human‑rights defenders who normalized Hamas, treated it as a legitimate authority, or tolerated its abuses because their hostility toward Israel outweighed their concern for Gazans.

The United Nations and Hamas: A Toxic Relationship? A close friend of mine from Gaza City, tortured nearly to death by Hamas, a well‑known activist against the group, and someone I helped evacuate during the war, was featured in the UN Human Rights Council’s report documenting Hamas’s abuses against Palestinian civilians: executions, torture, beatings, the misuse of medical facilities, and the terrorizing of women and children. When he met with the UN investigation team, one investigator was openly sympathetic to Hamas and the “resistance” narrative, signaling from the start that she doubted his testimony. He then spent five hours convincing the rest of the team that Hamas had, in fact, tortured him, despite extensive evidence of his injuries circulating on social media and a medical examination confirming blunt‑force trauma consistent with organized abuse, not random violence or Israeli bombardment. He even had to walk the investigators, including Ms. pro‑Hamas, through how his case fits into hundreds of others across Gaza, and how Hamas itself has filmed and publicly released its own executions, beatings, and torture to terrorize the population. Imagine that: Hamas documenting its own crimes on video, and supposedly serious investigators refusing to believe what is right in front of them. Imagine a human rights inquiry that includes someone openly aligned with the very group under investigation. It forces a hard question: why are parts of the UN system so compromised when it comes to Hamas that they cannot think beyond Israel’s actions long enough to examine the crimes of Palestinian actors, crimes that are equally harmful, shameful, and deserving of condemnation? And why are some so eager to believe Palestinians when the accusation is against Israel, yet so reluctant when the accusation is against Hamas, even when the evidence is overwhelming?

I spoke with the Misgav Institute for National Security (@MisgavINSen) about the June 26 anti-Hamas protests planned in Gaza, led by activists challenging the group’s violence against Palestinian civilians and a population desperate for alternatives. I also raised ongoing obstacles with the Board of Peace and underscored the urgency of developing the Green Zone (now 60-70% of the Strip under Israeli control) as the nucleus of a new, deradicalized Gaza free from Hamas’s grip.

"Nikolai Mladenov and the Board of Peace need to get over their reluctance to build in the IDF controlled Green Zones Hamas will not disarm The priority should be saving Gazan lives now." @afalkhatib joins me on today's Israel in 🔟 with @MisgavINSen on how to build a new Gaza

“One of the biggest issues with the Board of Peace is that it has highly siloed staff; it’s not a hierarchy, it’s very flat,” said Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and head of Realign for Palestine. “There is a total disconnect between the mandate of the Board of Peace and operationalizing it on the ground,” Alkhatib continued, pointing to a “gutted” State Department and shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development. “And with no administrative or organizational infrastructure, the Board will never succeed or function, no matter the political capital the Trump administration has invested in establishing it.” Alkhatib, of the Atlantic Council, said he is concerned that if Israel decides to resume full-scale military operations against Hamas, civilians face even graver harm because they are trapped in a smaller territory with no options to flee. He is focused on advocating for Palestinians to be moved into the so-called Green Zone, the more than 60 percent of territory under Israeli control. Israel says Hamas’s disarmament is a precondition for reconstruction in the Green Zone. “It’s the only hope for establishing a new Hamas-free beachhead within Gaza and creating the nucleus for true deradicalization, while allowing for a safe option that can spare civilians needless devastation, death, maiming, and harm due to circumstances over which they have no control.” thehill.com/policy/internati…

Hamas is in full panic mode over the June 26 calls for mass protests against its violent, authoritarian, fascistic rule in Gaza. It has unleashed its agents, operatives, loyalists posing as “journalists,” West Bank activists, online propagandists, and terror networks to incite violence, demand a crackdown, and even organize counter‑demonstrations. Hamas is circulating flyers calling for protests demanding the resignation of Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace executive committee chair overseeing the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), after he criticized Hamas’s stalling and obstruction. Even worse, Hamas supporters in the West Bank, including the vile “journalist” Souad al‑Khawaja, are openly calling for the killing of anyone who protests against the terror group and its “resistance.” Expect the same from Western “pro‑Palestine” circles in Europe and the US: they will smear anti‑Hamas protesters as “collaborators,” “traitors,” “Israeli agents,” or “suspicious individuals.” We saw this during the war, when thousands of Gazans demanded the release of hostages and an end to the conflict Hamas ignited. Watch closely how the most anti‑Palestinian elements of the “pro‑Palestine” cult will once again find any excuse to side with Hamas over the actual people of Gaza.

Gazans are calling for mass protests on June 26 against Hamas and its entrenched authoritarian, fascistic rule. The campaign, “The Voice of the Oppressed,” seeks to amplify the silenced majority in Gaza – voices crushed not only by Hamas, but also by its enablers in the West Bank, across the Arab and Muslim worlds, and within Western “pro‑Palestine” activist circles. Gazans are exhausted by endless wars with Israel, perpetual Islamist repression, the collapse of their national hopes, and life as hostages to the suicidal nihilism of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Stand with the people of Gaza and elevate their voices; never speak over those who have lived under a terror regime that destroyed the Strip in the name of “resistance.” Hamas will fall, externally and internally, no matter how long it takes.

Does Norway support terror? Walking through downtown Oslo, I came across a disturbing mural – apparently sponsored by the Oslo National Academy of Arts, a publicly funded institution – glorifying the iconography of violent extremism. The display featured Hamas’s inverted red triangle, a rifle, a keffiyeh, and the image of a Lufthansa civilian aircraft placed in front of a Marxist militant from the PFLP, a group responsible for multiple plane hijackings. Behind it all: smoke plumes meant to evoke an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. This was not “solidarity.” It was a celebration of terror against civilians, presented as if it were synonymous with the Palestinian cause. It is a perfect snapshot of what has gone wrong in parts of Western Europe: the normalization, and even celebration, of grotesque symbols that collapse Palestinian identity into plane hijackings, rifles, and failed communist militant fantasies from the 1970s and the contemporary Islamist disasters from the present. Who benefits from repeatedly associating Palestinians with plane hijackings, AK‑47s, and washed‑up extremists? Why would a major Norwegian arts institution choose to elevate these images when countless Palestinian humanitarians, thinkers, and community leaders embody a far more compelling vision of dignity, freedom, and a future beyond blood merchants who have sold “armed resistance” as a path to liberation? Instead of recycling sick, dehumanizing symbols that reinforce the stereotype of Palestinians as terrorists, imagine highlighting the humanity of Palestinians in Gaza and beyond; their love of life, their desire for peace, opportunity, and relief from decades of failed “resistance” narratives that Western radicals and diaspora Arab and Palestinian voices refuse to let go of. Oslo is saturated with “pro‑Palestine” stickers, flyers, and signs. But if “solidarity” manifests as the glorification of terror and the reduction of Palestinians to violent caricatures, then this support does more harm than good. In that case, Norway’s sympathy is not solidarity at all; it is a disservice to the very people it claims to champion.

I just attended the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway, hosted by the Human Rights Foundation, an annual gathering of global dissidents and those confronting authoritarian regimes. I previously spoke at the Forum in 2024 and 2025; this year’s theme, “Dismantling Dictatorship,” focused on the obstacles facing people trying to build alternative narratives, institutions, and futures in closed societies. Gaza remains a point of tension in this community: some insist the focus should be solely on Israel, while others recognize the glaring gap in addressing Hamas and the immense harm it has inflicted on Palestinians since its founding. I met activists and dissidents from across Latin America & Africa who told me I was the first Palestinian they had ever heard openly condemn Hamas. They expressed relief, gratitude, and deep concern about how pro‑Hamas sentiments are spreading rapidly across their continents, especially in states ruled by dictatorships. I also spoke with a UN Special Rapporteur who voiced frustration at how large segments of the human rights community have intentionally and deliberately ignored Hamas’s violent and tyrannical repression of Gazans. Several journalists echoed similar concerns, including Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times, with whom I had a candid conversation about the flaws in some of the sources used in a recent column. He listened with humility and acknowledged the validity of the issues I raised. While some attendees projected onto me simplistic expectations about what a Palestinian from Gaza “should” believe, many others were genuinely eager to engage with a perspective that is unfortunately and embarrassingly rare among English‑speaking "pro-Palestine" spaces, yet very common among Gazans themselves – voices that are overwhelmingly against Hamas, exhausted by the mythology of “armed resistance,” and desperate for a radically different path centered on peace, nation‑building, dignity, and freedom from terror and Islamist rule.

Israeli strikes keep killing Gazans: This CCTV footage from central Gaza City shows the Israeli strike that killed Hamas commander, Mohammed Odeh. It shatters the myth of “clean,” surgical strikes, showcasing how many civilians get killed and maimed in the crossfire. Yes, Hamas is a fascist, violent organization responsible for immense suffering and must ultimately be dismantled. But it is reckless and indefensible to escalate operations and seize 70% of Gaza’s territory without giving civilians a real alternative to Hamas’s control. This is why the areas east of the “Yellow Line,” soon to comprise two‑thirds of the Strip under Israeli control, must be rapidly transformed into Hamas‑free zones where civilians can be safely and systematically relocated out of the dense red zone that Hamas still dominates. Without that, what you see in this video will continue: Israeli strikes killing and injuring civilians who could have been spared had they been offered a path out of Hamas’s grip. The moment demands decisive action. Move Gaza’s civilians across the “Yellow Line” and into the green zone, now, before more innocent lives are lost.

War Returning to Gaza? Prime Minister Netanyahu announced he will order the Israeli military to expand its control to 70% of the Gaza Strip, acknowledging that the army already holds roughly 60% of the territory. The declaration follows a wave of assassinations of senior Hamas military commanders over the past two weeks and comes as Israel and the United States appear to be nearing a deal with Iran –one widely expected to deliver poor terms and fall short of any strategic victory against the Ayatollahs’ regime. Netanyahu’s timing suggests an effort to preempt critics by tightening pressure on Hamas in Gaza, especially if the agreement with Tehran includes a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon or elsewhere. Nevertheless, given Hamas’s refusal to disarm, relinquish control, dismantle its remaining terror infrastructure, or step aside, renewed escalation in Gaza was inevitable. Two million Palestinians remain trapped under Hamas’s rule in what will now be compressed into barely a third of the enclave’s already overcrowded space. Israel’s control over 70% of Gaza only underscores the urgency of beginning a serious, phased movement of civilians across the “Yellow Line” and out of Hamas’s grip. This relocation can be methodical: screening individuals, preventing weapons from crossing, ensuring militants cannot hide among civilians, and creating Hamas‑free zones where a new Gaza can take root. It would also force Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives to face the consequences of their own decisions and actions without using civilians as shields or seeking to cause casualties to “make Israel look bad.” The next phase in Gaza should not resemble a war like the one Israel fought after October 7. Instead, it must shift into a counter‑insurgency campaign modeled after the successful operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, where isolating the population from the extremist organization was the prerequisite for defeating it.

Disgusting: Iranian‑funded Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) showed up at a crowded encampment for displaced civilians in Gaza to hand out Eid al‑Adha food and desserts and play with children – a cheap, cynical propaganda stunt by an extremist organization responsible for immense harm and repression. This is exactly why there must be a physical separation between the population and Hamas/PIJ militants, who terrorize Gazans or manipulate them with propaganda and the use of scarce resources to maintain control over the roughly 40% of the Strip they still dominate. It is long past time to begin the slow, careful, and methodical movement of displaced civilians across the “Yellow Line” into the “Green Zone,” where new communities, shelters, schools, clinics, and safe spaces can be established. The alternative is continued subjugation by armed factions that tax incoming goods, monopolize resources, suppress free expression, criminalize dissent, and endanger children and uninvolved civilians by embedding themselves throughout society.

Mohammed Odeh, newly elevated to lead Hamas’s military wing after Izz al‑Din al‑Haddad’s assassination two weeks ago, has now been eliminated in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City’s Al‑Rimal neighborhood. True to form, he was hiding in a building packed with civilians; another example of Hamas’s deliberate, systematic use of noncombatants as shields for its military infrastructure. Hamas boasts endlessly about its “legendary” tunnel network, yet its senior commanders consistently choose to live and die above ground, dragging civilians with them rather than using the very tunnels they glorify. And instead of taking the guaranteed safe passage out of Gaza that was offered to them, Hamas’s leaders insist on a suicidal last stand. They seem convinced history will romanticize their death cultism, as if reenacting Hitler’s bunker mentality, determined to bring Gaza down with them and turn every block into rubble. This is the “resistance” so many in the West still cheer for, including the influencer champagne‑communist types who proudly declare they would “100% vote for” it.

Gaza's Deradicalization, Part 2: For years before October 7, Hamas’s leadership indoctrinated its followers, Gaza government employees, segments of the public, and anyone gullible enough to believe the group was preparing to “liberate” Al‑Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Hamas and other jihadist movements have long framed Al‑Aqsa as the cosmic justification for their armed “resistance,” elevating it into a sacred pretext for endless violence. The video here captures this delusion perfectly: a theatrical “practice run” in which Hamas militants reenact a fantasy conquest of Jerusalem, blending imagery from Saladin’s era with catapults and swords with apocalyptic, end‑times mythology that are Armageddon adjacent and simulate the return of Jesus to end the anti-Christ or “the Dajjal.” Actors dressed as medieval warriors, crowds chanting “To Jerusalem we march, millions of martyrs,” and a staged “liberated” Old City all served to reinforce a mass hallucination that Hamas alone could deliver a new Islamic victory. One of Gaza’s central deradicalization challenges is dismantling this warped place that Jerusalem and Al‑Aqsa have been forced to occupy in the collective Palestinian psyche. The site and the city hold deep religious and cultural meaning, but Hamas has turned them into Trojan horses; vehicles for jihadist ideology, emotional manipulation, and political recklessness. The group routinely slapped “Al‑Aqsa” onto its wars and operations to sanctify the indefensible, with the so‑called “Al‑Aqsa Flood” of October 7 being the most catastrophic example. Even some Palestinian nationalists, including Yasser Arafat, used the label, calling the Second Intifada the “Al‑Aqsa Intifada” to legitimize what ultimately proved a fatal strategic error that derailed the Two‑State peace process. Al‑Aqsa must be restored to what it actually is: a holy site that should one day be accessible to Palestinian Muslims, Arabs, and Muslims worldwide. A serious, phased conversation will be needed about how Muslims and Jews can safely access and share this sacred space with mutual respect and practical separation. But after nearly two decades of Hamas rule, Gaza’s immediate priority must be Gaza itself – its reconstruction, governance, security, and social healing, rather than reckless political gambles taken in Al‑Aqsa’s name. Never again can Al‑Aqsa be weaponized to justify violence, launch wars, or make catastrophic decisions that cost tens of thousands of Palestinian lives and destroy entire generations. The Prophet Muhammad shared in a Hadith that the sanctity of a Muslim’s life outweighs even the sanctity of the Kaaba in Mecca. That principle underscores a truth Gaza must reclaim: human life is infinitely more sacred than any stone, shrine, or symbol, whether in Mecca or Jerusalem.

Gaza's Deradicalization, Part 1: Two days ago, a man in Gaza posted a photo of a mosque hosting a youth session titled “How Do We Control the World?” The discussion centered on when and how to dominate the world – lamenting that believers spent years fixating on the “when” instead of preparing for the “how.” They criticized reliance on “dreams and visions” rather than “analyzing reality,” and pledged to finally think seriously about global domination. Anyone seeing this would wonder what mass delusion has taken hold when many of these young men live in tents, survive on internationally funded food, and depend on Israeli approval for every item entering the Hamas‑controlled “Red Zone,” conditions created by Hamas’s own catastrophic rule and actions. A first, non‑negotiable step in Gaza’s deradicalization is reclaiming the thousand-plus mosques across the Strip and restoring them as houses of worship, not propaganda hubs, indoctrination centers, weapons depots, or Hamas command posts. When I lived in Gaza, Hamas had turned mosques into nonstop venues for lectures, workshops, Salafi sermons, and political mobilization; prayer was almost incidental. It’s one thing for fringe individuals to indulge in delusional fantasies; it’s another when they have hundreds of facilities to reach thousands of youth and saturate them with hate, violence, and jihadist ideology. The next Gaza administration, just as most Arab states already do, must take firm control of mosques, restrict them to prayer only, and keep them locked between prayer times. Imams and preachers must be vetted, monitored, and held accountable to prevent the spread of religious opiates, incitement, and brainwashing. The encouraging news: roughly 90% of Gazan commenters mocked this “world domination” gathering, ridiculing Hamas’s remaining loyalists for peddling religious insanity to distract from the disaster they caused. Gazans aren’t buying it anymore. The window for deradicalization is still open.

Israel now controls 60% of Gaza’s territory and has slowly moved the “Yellow Line” westward, further narrowing the “Red Zone” where over 2.1 million Gazans live under Hamas’s control. Two schools of thought have emerged on what will become of the “Green Zone” that is under Israeli control. As some had originally envisioned, this area could be turned into a safe zone with developments that include temporary housing, safer communities, new schools and medical facilities, and economic opportunities for unemployed civilians to engage in work that is protected from Hamas’s taxation and interference - all while allowing for a deradicalization and an initiation of new narratives and perspectives away from violent extremism. Another school of thought that has emerged in recent months believes that Israel is no longer interested in having this area developed and is merely looking to use the “Green Zone” as a buffer zone to keep Hamas at bay, while dealing with the complex fronts in Southern Lebanon and Iran, pending the inevitable return to war in the Gaza Strip. Some contractors and prospective firms have submitted bids to clear rubble, build new camps, develop safer spaces for civilians, and offer security in the “Green Zone,” but have never heard back from the Board of Peace, Israel, or prospective donors. Furthermore, the International Stabilization Force (ISF), which is supposed to act as a buffer between Palestinians and Israelis in Gaza, starting in the “Green Zone,” has yet to be stood up or activated due to a continued lack of clarity on its mandate, and area of responsibility and operations. Regardless, now is the time to focus maximally on developing the parts of the Gaza Strip beyond the “Yellow Line” and begin the gradual movement of civilians away from the horrendously overcrowded and inhumane tents and displacement camps and into safer, cleaner, and promising spaces away from Hamas’s influence and to minimize risk to civilians should war return to Gaza in the near future.