Why I Don’t Trust Hamas — And Neither Should You

Peace must be earned through power, not purchased through wishful thinking.

Earlier today, negotiators in Egypt announced a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Hamas will release hostages. Israel will release prisoners. The arithmetic of human exchange has been calculated, the ratios agreed upon. Many are celebrating, but I remain skeptical.

When leaders speak of peace, they picture a cessation of violence, the restoration of order, and a calm that endures. For much of the world, peace means the end of war and the slow return of stability. For Islamists, and for Hamas in particular, the word means something else entirely. This is not a quibble of translation but a fundamental divide in meaning. Before we rush to cheer or pop corks, we must ask a crucial question: What does a Hamas signature actually mean?

Hamas is not a normal political movement. It is an Islamist enterprise founded on conquest, not coexistence. Its charter does not speak the language of compromise but of continuity — the continuation of jihad until victory. Western governments plan in two- and four-year cycles. Hamas plans in generations. That mismatch alone should shatter any illusion of parity. You cannot reason a doctrine out of existence. You cannot paper over theology with treaties.