The Trump administration’s Board of Peace road map promises Hamas disarmament in exchange for phased Israeli withdrawals. Yet, predictable disputes over sequencing already signal collapse. While the Oct. 7, 2023, butchers demand immediate Israeli retreat, Jerusalem rightly conditions any pullback on verified demilitarization. This arrangement is not statecraft; it is an exercise in self-delusion that guarantees a brief intermission before the terror resumes.

Hamas transformed Gaza’s 365 square kilometers into a subterranean fortress, boring 350 to 650 kilometers of tunnels with 5,700 shafts. Yahya Sinwar boasted of 500 kilometers — longer than New York’s subway. Even during ceasefires, Israeli troops still uncover complex seven-kilometer routes housing dozens of hideouts. Over 15 years of iron-fist dictatorship, Hamas cynically plundered $1 billion — averaging $3 million per major tunnel — by hijacking civilian cement and steel for terrorist infrastructure.