The title for this post is particularly apt, given what is happening between Hamas and Israel. It seems that Hamas is relying on their old, decadent dance, because it always seems to work. In spite of their passionate promise to maintain the ceasefire, they have repeatedly violated the terms. One could say that the “desert disco” is lifeless and lacking in credibility. Yet Israel, due to pressure from the United States and the world, feels obligated to go through the motions of peace. As we watch the steps the two partners take, the dance is quite predictable: first, Hamas shoots at the Israelis and denies it, then Israel follows up with shooting at Hamas, saying they are responding to Hamas’s violation. Hamas denies shooting at Israel and accuses the Israelis of violating the ceasefire. And then there is the quibbling over the return of dead bodies.

Thus, you have the desert disco.

Hamas is clearly insincere about returning the Israeli dead, although they have tried to substitute body parts in lieu of intact bodies, and pass them off as part of a missing Israeli. Here is a telling example:

On Monday, Hamas returned to Israel a coffin containing additional remains of hostage Ofir Tzarfati, whose body was already returned to Israel in 2023. Tzarfati’s remains have been discovered and returned to Israel three times now.

‘This is the third time we have been forced to open Ofir’s grave and rebury our son,’ his family said. ‘The circle supposedly ‘closed’ back in December 2023, but it never truly closes. Since then, we have lived with a wound that constantly reopens, between memory and longing, between bereavement and mission.’

With all this talk of a peace deal, there are some who may be surprised by a very recent poll. The Arab Palestinians stated they do not support disarming Hamas:

The results of the poll also show the challenges facing the implementation of the Trump plan, especially disarming Hamas and deradicalizing Palestinian society. Most Palestinians are openly opposed to disarming Hamas – a situation that will make it effectively impossible for any Arab or foreign party to confiscate the terror group’s weapons by force.

The poll also revealed Arab Palestinians support Israel’s enemies, including Iran, Qatar, Yemen, and Hezbollah.

The U.S. has taken a mix of stances toward the entire “dance.” Vice President J.D. Vance tried to reassure everyone that the ceasefire is holding:

‘That doesn’t mean that there aren’t going to be little skirmishes here and there,’ he told reporters on Capitol Hill. ‘We know that Hamas or somebody else within Gaza attacked an (Israeli) soldier. We expect the Israelis are going to respond, but I think the president’s peace is going to hold despite that.’

While Vance downplays the impact of the violations, President Trump continues to make strong threats:

‘Numerous of our NOW GREAT ALLIES in the Middle East, and areas surrounding the Middle East, have explicitly and strongly, with great enthusiasm, informed me that they would welcome the opportunity, at my request, to go into GAZA with a heavy force and ‘straighten our Hamas’ if Hamas continues to act badly, in violation of their agreement with us,’ he said in a Truth Social post. ‘I told these countries, and Israel, ‘NOT YET!’ There is still hope that Hamas will do what is right. If they do not, an end to Hamas will be FAST, FURIOUS, & BRUTAL!’

To maintain a realistic perspective, it’s important to realize that the Arabs in Gaza not only support Hamas governance, but blame Israel for the events that transpired on October 7 and thereafter:

More than half of Palestinians continue to support the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israelis and foreign nationals on October 7. Moreover, the terror group remains popular among a large number of Palestinians. Support for Hamas means support for the destruction of Israel through Jihad (holy war).

A poll published on October 28 by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that 53% of the Palestinians think that Hamas's decision to launch the October 7 attack was ‘correct.’ A majority of 54% of Palestinians blame Israel for the current suffering of Gazans, while 24% blame the US. Only 14% blame Hamas.

The following comments epitomize the attitudes of both sides of this conflict:

Hamas officials have told intermediaries that they are ‘unequivocally committed’ to finding the hostages’ bodies. The group claims that it has returned all the hostage bodies it can locate and access.

[snip]

‘Today’s attack on IDF soldiers in Gaza by the terrorist organization Hamas is a crossing of a glaring red line to which the IDF will respond with great force,’ Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. ‘Hamas will pay dearly, with interest, for attacking the soldiers and for violating the agreement on the return of the deceased hostages.’!

Hamas promises to continue its commitment to the process; the Israelis are prepared to make sure they “pay dearly” for the violations of the process. Both sides have agreed to the steps to follow.

And now you see how the desert disco is done.

Image from Grok.