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The is meant to be a first step, and we don’t know what happens next, or the promises that were made behind the scenes.

It is possible that President-elect Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have agreed on this move merely as a tactical prelude to a set of far-reaching measures that will yet transform the Middle East.

And, most importantly, the idea of dozens of Israelis � including toddlers � returning home after more than a year in purgatory is enough to dull even the most hawkish observer’s concerns.

Yet it is very hard to observe this deal and see it as anything other than � and an embarrassment for America.

First, and most devastating, Hamas remains in power. Greatly weakened, true, and hampered by increased Israeli military presence in Gaza, but able to claim ultimate victory.

Because a terror organization, as the old chestnut goes, wins just as long as it doesn’t lose, and forcing Israel to cease fire, release terrorists, and succumb to a long list of demands in order to receive the rest of its hostages is a major victory for Hamas.

And not a symbolic one, at that: Mahmoud Abbas, the corrupt and despotic president of the Palestinian Authority, is 89 years old and ailing.

A deal that keeps Hamas in power now almost certainly means that when Abbas dies, the organization will be in position to seize the mantle of leadership in the West Bank as well, growing its power and influence.

Just as troubling is what the deal suggests about the political machinations in Washington, DC.

Why would Trump, who repeatedly said there would be “hell to pay� , put his weight behind a deal that, with very few and very minor details, is the exact same one peddled, unsuccessfully and for many months now, by the Biden administration?

To hear Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, praise Qatar, one of Hamas� chief financiers and enablers, as “doing God’s work� suggests that anyone who was bullish about the incoming administration’s approach to the region should curb their enthusiasm.

It isn’t easy trying to figure out what would make Trump support such a flawed deal, one that doesn’t even return all the hostages at once and leaves Hamas plenty of leverage in the coming weeks and months.

Was the president-elect played and lulled into submission by Washington’s “Deep State�? Was he swayed by interested parties in his inner circle into making rash and unprincipled decisions?

We’ve no way of knowing, and it’s a testament to the deal’s glaring imperfections that Trump’s sudden and enthusiastic support for the bad old terms of the Biden administration would launch conspiracy theories aplenty.

That’s a pity. During his first term in office, Trump wisely and courageously rejected the stale dogmas of the American foreign policy elites.

He moved the American Embassy to Jerusalem, and proved that no Armageddon ensued.

He and showed that Israel can sign peace treaties with Arab nations even before resolving its conflict with the Palestinians.

The unspeakable horrors of October 7, 2023, ought to have inspired a new and bold rethinking of American policy in the region, one that no longer tolerates terrorists or their handlers.

Instead, we’re getting yet another deal that telegraphs a lack of resolve, and rewards the terrorists for their heinous crimes.

Let’s hope the hostages are freed safely and soonest, but let’s hope, too, that, once in office, the Trump administration rethinks its positions and offers a bolder vision of American leadership.