https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/07/opinion/israel-hamas-attack-friedman.html

In a previous term, in 2011, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded 1,027 Palestinian prisoners, including 280 serving life sentences, to get one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, back from Hamas in Gaza. Bibi may be called on to empty every Israeli prison of Palestinians if Hamas is holding older people and children in Gaza, Nahum noted.

Both Presidents Carter and Clinton tried to negotiate a peace, but Carter managed a treaty with Egypt and Barak walked away. This is the worst that it's gotten and now Netanyahu has declared it's war.

Look, Israel is not blameless in this conflict, especially with Netanyahu in power. But I don't think the Palestinians are helping their cause. Doing something like this will not help themselves. In fact, it will likely lessen the support for Palestine.

Look, I think that the Palestinians are in a really bad spot, especially with Israel irredentism and settlements on their land. However, I think the Palestinians have to make a decision on who they should support. I get there are very few options, but they need to make a decision on who they support. Now, I am not saying it is solely their fault. I believe the two-state solution has been brought out numerous times, but I think that Israel has not helped itself. Of course, Israel seems to believe it has some sort of superiority complex, but anytime you criticize them, they throw the whole anti-Semitic card, which is stupid.

And though they are in an ongoing dangerous position, launching an attack on Israel was a terrible decision.

That will not go well. In fact, I wonder how much support from the Arab countries will change because of this. But again, the Palestinians have to really make a decision on who they support. I get that in a difficult situation you would be inclined to use military force, but I don't think it will give them what they want.

the Palestinians may have feared being left out in the cold, without deep pocket benefactors. As distasteful internationally as this attack is, it may illicit such a brutal and destructive response from Israel that Saudi backs away from normalizing relations. That might be Hamas's plan all along.

But again, it's not like Hamas has no support outside of Palestine. Qatar, Iran, and Afghanistan (Taliban) are allies of them, as well as probably Turkey and China.

"Retaliate and we will kill the hostages."

If Israelis could capture a high level Palestinian, they might reverse the tables on hostages. "Return all hostages if you want your leader back."

It may be that they simply can't negotiate this time. Extraordinarily hard decision, but given the situation on the ground and the fact that Hamas will ask for the moon and stars, they may simply have to consider them casualties of war, put their heads down and crush Hamas, putting an end to this. Once the smoke clears, Bibi's regime is done. His watch got caught flat footed on the biggest Palestinian attack in generations, resulting in numerous civilian casualties on both sides. Possibly thousands when all this is over, particularly innocent Palestinians.