By Cal Thomas

What do you think President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s response might have been if another nation had called on him to stop U.S. and Allied forces from taking Berlin and squashing the Nazi regime in 1945? Same question about President Harry Truman when it came to dropping nuclear bombs on Japan, prompting its swift surrender?

In the case of Germany, if Allied forces had pulled their punches, Adolf Hitler might have survived, regrouped his National Socialist Party, and continued killing Jews.

Those analogies are applicable when it comes to what Israel is trying to achieve in Rafah — the defeat of Hamas, rendering it incapable of carrying out its threat to repeat the murderous spree it conducted against Israel last Oct. 7 “over and over again.”

The “acceptance” by Hamas of a so-called peace deal written by its own leaders is a nonstarter, no matter how much life U.S. officials try to breathe into it. The New York Times reports that the Hamas hostage proposal was made in coordination with CIA Director William J. Burns. That’s going behind the back of Israel, America’s supposed “friend.” The Times reports “… in return for a 42-day ceasefire and the release of a much larger number of Palestinian prisoners. Israel had sought 33 hostages, but it is not clear how many women and elderly are still alive, and the first tranche could end up including remains.”

No one except Hamas knows how many of the 240 hostages are alive. The exchange of dead hostages for living Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were arrested by Israel on terrorism charges, is hardly a quid pro quo.

Meanwhile, according to Palestinian Media Watch, Hamas controls ATMs, cash and humanitarian aid trucks, deciding who gets food and who doesn’t.

On my first visit to Israel in 1978, Prime Minister Menachem Begin told me that while his country needed friends it was prepared to stand alone if the nation’s survival was at stake. Current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed Begin’s comment in a speech Sunday marking Holocaust Remembrance Day: “ No amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum, will stop Israel from defending itself. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. But we know we are not alone, because countless decent people around the world support our cause.”

If Hamas is allowed to survive, it will surely regroup and live to fight another day. Their leaders have promised to do exactly that. They think they have a religious mandate to carry out inhumane acts. Why are so many Westerners, especially in the Biden administration, seemingly in denial about their goals and have the false belief Hamas can be deterred from carrying out their oft-stated goals? Israel’s enemies want the Jewish state eradicated from the region. That would allow them to return to killing each other as they have done for centuries before the Jewish people reclaimed their ancient land.

If a street gang begins killing your neighbors and they reach the house next door to yours and shout “you’re next,” you would be a fool not to grab your gun (if you have one) and defend yourself. That is what Israel has been doing since 1948, grabbing its guns to defend itself against enemies who have demonstrated no restraint when it comes to murdering civilians, including women and babies.

There is a verse in the Torah that seems to fit what Israel is trying to do in Rafah and elsewhere: “You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 21:21).

If Hamas and its actions do not define evil, as Hitler’s attempt at eradicating the Jewish people did 80 years ago, pray tell what does?

Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).