By: Avi Abelow

The UN Security Council’s adoption of Trump’s 20-Point Gaza Plan is being sold as a diplomatic win. But behind the headlines lies the same fatal pattern that has undermined U.S. strategy in the Middle East for decades: Western leaders keep treating jihadist movements as if they can be appeased, incentivized, or negotiated into normal statehood.

The result is predictable. Jihadist groups expand, moderates collapse, American allies lose confidence, and U.S. deterrence erodes in the region, because the jihadist Muslims have patience. They can take temporary losses that leave them standing with time and resources to rearm, as they are implementing a 1,400+ year Muslim ideology.

President Trump wants stability in the Middle East and a secure foundation for its strategic economic corridor linking the U.S. to India through the region to counter China. To do that, he must stop pretending that the Arab-Israeli conflict is a technical problem that can be solved by better engineering. It is an ideological conflict driven by actors who see concessions as opportunities rather than compromises.

That is why the most important, and most overlooked, dimension of this moment is simple:

The U.S. cannot afford another round of appeasing jihadist movements. And America’s interests are best served by fully supporting Israel’s right to do whatever is necessary to eliminate them.

Trump’s plan lays out strict prerequisites for hypothetical Palestinian statehood:

Hamas must disarm;

Gaza must be demilitarized;

A new government must replace Hamas;

International monitors must enforce compliance;

The Palestinian Authority must “reform” into something functional.

These conditions will never be met, not because they are unreasonable, but because they contradict the underlying ideological realities of the jihadi Muslim goal to destroy Israel.

For decades, Jihadi Muslim organizations and international institutions have built up the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA into a political culture around martyrdom, glorification of violence, and rejection of Israel. That is in addition to the Iranian and Qatari support of Hamas. Polls of Arab Muslims in Gaza, Judea and Samaria after October 7 showed overwhelming support for the Oct. 7th massacre. These aren’t fringe sentiments; they are the majority of the populace.

The U.S. cannot base regional policy on a population or leadership class that sees mass murder as legitimate resistance.

Israeli journalist Tzvi Yechezkeli tells a story in his recent book that explains America’s failures in the Middle East better than any think-tank report. After toppling Saddam Hussein, General David Petraeus held a celebratory meal for local tribal leaders inside Saddam’s palace. The food was local, but the guests refused to eat. Confused, an American officer asked why. One leader replied, “We are confused. Did you win or lose?”

The officer insisted America had won. After all, they were dining in Saddam’s palace.

The tribal leader answered with brutal clarity: “In our culture, if you win, you rape the women and expel the population from the liberated land. Since you did neither, we don’t understand who actually won.”

Years later, after the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq had empowered Iran and plunged Iraq into chaos, the American officer met the same Iraqi leader again. The leader asked the same question: “So now — who won?”

And this time, the officer admitted the truth: the tribal leader had understood the regional power dynamic far better than the U.S.

This is not about endorsing such norms; it is about recognizing that misunderstanding them leads to catastrophic American policy. And this is a tricky concept for Western-educated people to internalize.

Trump’s core regional goals are clear: Secure stable trade and energy routes. Consolidate alliances with moderate Arab partners. Block Iranian expansion and influence. Prevent the rise of transnational jihadist movements.

Every one of these goals collapses when the West signals that jihadi terrorism is politically rewarding and not punished in the language of the Arab Muslim world.

The message sent by entertaining Palestinian statehood in Trump’s 20-point peace proposal, approved by the United Nations, is precisely the wrong one: jihadi violence pays.

American attempts to stabilize the region have been undermined by treating jihadist groups, or governments that enable them many times in the past. We only need to learn from history.

The U.S. tried it with the Taliban. It tried it with the Qatari-supported Muslim Brotherhood. Every time, the result was a strategic setback.

Repeating that pattern around Gaza would be catastrophic for everyone, especially US interests across the Middle East. There is only one country in the region that has consistently fought and defeated jihadist organizations without blinking: Israel.

When the U.S. needs intelligence, deterrence, missile defense testing, counter-terror doctrines, or regional stability, Israel supplies it. When the U.S. needs boots on the ground to eliminate jihadist forces, Israel does the fighting.

When the U.S. needs to reassure Arab partners that Iran will not dominate the region, Israel’s strength is the only credible guarantee. Saudi Arabia failed in taking care of the Houthis and could not take care of Iran, so Israel instead was relied upon to do both.

A weakened Israel means a strengthened Iran, emboldened jihadists, and destabilized Arab allies.

After the IDF eliminates Hamas and demilitarized Gaza, as no international force will even attempt to do, the real question is not diplomatic but strategic: Will Gaza be rebuilt for the same jihadi population of Gazans that overwhelmingly supported the massacre of October 7?

If the answer is yes, then Gaza will produce the following October 7, as the jihadis will just patiently wait to rearm for the post-Trump era or until the world is focused on other problems.

And America will face the next Hezbollah, the next ISIS, or the next Iran-proxy state controlling a strategic coastline that endangers its economic strategy. Allowing that outcome is not only suicidal for Israel, it is also reckless for U.S. interests.

For the U.S. to secure its strategic goals, and for the region to stabilize, the path forward is clear: Hamas must be eliminated entirely, not managed, contained, or negotiated with. Gaza must remain permanently demilitarized under Israeli control. A jihadi supporting population that openly supports mass atrocities cannot remain in Gaza and remain a threat against Israelis in the future. Israel must resettle Gaza with Jewish communities, as a civilian presence is what ensures military success.

This is not ideology. It is a strategic reality. Appeasing jihadist movements has failed every time the U.S. has tried it. Empowering Israel has succeeded every time.

If the U.S. wants to project strength, secure its alliances, and anchor a new regional economic order, it must stop indulging diplomatic illusions that reward terror.

A strong Israel with a free hand against jihadist actors in the region is not just good for Israelis. It is essential for America.

(FrontPageMag.com)

Avi Abelow is the host of The Pulse of Israel daily video podcast and the CEO of the 12Tribe Films Foundation, which produce media content highlighting Israel’s biblical, historical, and strategic importance to the Jewish people and the world. He is the 2025 recipient of the Ari Fuld Project’s “Lion of Zion Award”.