As the ceasefire crumbles, Gaza’s war moves underground...literally. Hamas terrorists are trapped in their own tunnel networks, abandoned by leadership and starving beneath the rubble. But surrender is not an option in the world of jihad.

Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh expose Hamas’s strategic manipulation of the Trump ceasefire plan. While appearing to comply with phase one, Hamas is stalling, refusing to release hostages and exploiting negotiations to regroup, rearm and reassert control over Gaza. The conversation reveals Hamas's true intent: to maintain power, avoid disarmament and ultimately destroy Israel using diplomatic deception and international legitimacy. This is not peace, it’s what they call “Stage Two Jihad.”

Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh argue that the UN-driven, internationally managed “Trump 20-point plan” is constraining Israel while Hamas exploits the ceasefire to rearm, regroup and entrench control in Gaza. They warn that vague terms like “demilitarization” and “decommissioning” (without explicit disarmament) enable loopholes, drawing lessons from Hezbollah in Lebanon. They caution against rebranding Hamas through new “security forces,” urge clan-based regime change backed by the West, oppose granting safe passage to wanted militants, and connect Western political trends, like New York’s mayoral race, to a wider jihadist information war. The episode closes with a call to replace Hamas entirely and build genuine Arab-Jewish bridges through clear-eyed policy, not wishful thinking.

In today's episode we discuss the Trump Peace plan in Gaza and why it can get more complicated than people think.

Western powers like the U.K., France, Australia and Canada are all rewarding jihad and encouraging further violence by embracing a Palestinian state that lacks borders, governance or unity. Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs President Dan Diker and Senior Fellow at the JCFA and Gatestone Institute Khaled Abu Toameh deliver an acute analysis of the international community’s recent push to recognize a Palestinian state and the dangerous fallout already unfolding.

Abu Toameh, a top Arab affairs journalist and longtime observer of the Palestinian street, explains how the Palestinian Authority’s decade-long diplomatic campaign has culminated in a global public relations victory that Hamas is now capitalizing on.

Dan Diker traces the origins of this diplomatic warfare to Yasser Arafat and the 1970s UN resolutions, showing how history, law and logic have been sidelined by anti-Israel sentiment and strategic confusion in the West. Together, the hosts warn that these recognitions don’t bring peace, but will embolden Iran-backed jihadist groups, fuel instability in Judea and Samaria and undermine any real hope for coexistence.

Topics covered:

The PA and Hamas's two-pronged anti-Israel strategy

How October 7 is being retroactively justified

The rise of Iranian-backed terror cells in the West Bank

The failure of Arab states to oppose Hamas

Israel’s urgent need for a clear post-PA strategy

The "Hebron First" tribal governance alternative

Why Qatar is not a mediator, but a co-conspirator

'Son of Hamas,' Mosab Hassan Yousef, joins Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, to discuss the disturbing legacy of jihad from September 11, 2001 to Oct. 7, 2023, revealing how Islamic extremism has not only survived but mutated into even more dangerous global forms.

The Middle East is entering one of the most critical turning points the region has faced in decades.

In this episode of Our Middle East, Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, Senior Fellow at the JCFA and the Gatestone Institute, explore one of the most critical turning points in the Middle East in decades. They analyze Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the unprecedented support it is receiving from the United States, and proposals for a trusteeship that could reshape the territory’s future.

The conversation examines Hamas’s strategy of prolonging the conflict, the ongoing hostage crisis, and the mounting international pressure on Israel from the United Nations, France, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union. The hosts also discuss the reluctance of Arab powers such as Qatar and Egypt to take meaningful steps to pressure Hamas, and the consequences this has for Palestinians and the wider region.

Diker and Abu Toameh consider the broader implications for Lebanon and Syria, where Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups are watching Israel’s moves closely. They emphasize that this conflict is not only political or territorial but also an ideological battle against radical jihadist movements seeking to undermine Israel’s very existence.

Our Middle East offers timely and authoritative analysis, raising the question of whether this moment could lead to the emergence of a truly new Middle East shaped by Israel, the United States, and moderate Arab states, or whether radical forces will continue to dominate the region.

With Hamas leaders under mounting pressure from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the Arab League, hosts Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh explore whether we’re witnessing the beginning of Hamas’s end or the setup for another major confrontation.

Chapters

00:00 The Current State of Hamas and Israel

02:53 Pressure on Hamas and Regional Dynamics

05:52 Arab League's Stance and International Reactions

08:47 The Future of Gaza and Hamas's Role

12:03 Demilitarization and Reconstruction of Gaza

14:51 Israel's Narrative and Public Diplomacy

17:51 Understanding Jihad and Hamas's Ideology

20:48 The Complexity of Palestinian Politics

23:46 The Role of the West in the Middle East

27:03 Cultural Misunderstandings and the Path Forward