ATLANTA, Georgia — Most people think that Israel's main goal in the Gaza Strip is to recover the hostages seized by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 with an announced follow-up mission to eliminate the Palestinian militant group as a threat. If you thought that, you would be wrong. Substantial evidence reveals a different strategic aim: destroying every shred of Palestinian legitimacy as a nation.

In spite of continued pleas from the weak White House to stop bombing civilians in Gaza, Israel refuses to end the carnage. What's going on? As usual in the Middle East, the obvious plot has at least one hidden subplot.