Buying dangerous silence
We are witnessing an attempt to implement Nickolay Mladenov's plan, which aims to execute Donald Trump's twenty-point program to end the "Iron Swords" war.
Nickolay Mladenov, appointed to lead the Peace Council, has worked for many months with the assistance of Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt to promote an agreement with Hamas that would allow for the realization of a twenty-point plan. Israel, for its part, continues a wave of targeted killings and ground operations to destroy Hamas infrastructure. The military pressure lever of targeted killings has forced Hamas to act through mediators and agree to a framework that apparently allows it to continue existing, albeit in a different form than before.
In the presented agreement, Hamas relinquishes civil control in a complex reality where most of the Gaza Strip is destroyed and isolated, and the civilian population is in a difficult situation. Hamas is effectively passing the "hot potato" to other Palestinian entities. Meanwhile, the organization watches from the sidelines, commits to handing over heavy weaponry—which it possesses in very limited quantities—and entrusts light weaponry to other Palestinian entities. Hamas will not change its spots: it will keep weapons caches in underground complexes, continue to receive budgets from Qatar to pay its operatives, and a significant portion of reconstruction funds will leak into Hamas accounts.
Khalil al-Hayya, who established personal contact with Steve Witkoff following an assassination attempt on September 9, 2025, will continue to use this direct channel to push for the implementation of the Mladenov plan and attempt to convince President Donald Trump of the agreement's necessity. Israel is required to stop targeted killings, withdraw from held territory, and allow a comprehensive reconstruction plan. Hamas is, in effect, entering a kind of "hudna"—a cessation of activity for the purpose of building, strengthening, and planning the next campaign.
The directive that "silence will be met with silence," which Benjamin Netanyahu introduced into our lives, may return and constitute a tangible risk. "Silence is filth, a betrayal of blood and soul," wrote Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the Betar anthem in 1932, criticizing the containment policy of the Jewish Yishuv. The Israeli government failed to create a governing alternative when Hamas was at its weakest, and it now faces a real dilemma. The correct solution, in my opinion, will require operational action for change within the implementation of the agreement, maximum alertness, and restraint in cases of violations. Israel must act in a multi-dimensional manner, including under the surface, to create a real governing alternative that will work to eradicate Hamas.
Col. (res.) Doron Hadar, former commander of the IDF's Crisis Management and Negotiation Unit.
