Khanna, Beinart and Kristof want Barghouti released. They buy the Palestinian wishful thinking that he’s Mandela and Israel is the White Apartheid government. Hamas imagined Oct 7 as Algeria’s “one million martyr revolution that liberated it from colonial France.” Hamas believed Oct 7 will be a replay of Taliban outburst and America running away in Afghanistan. All there are imagined and hoped for scenarios in which Israel vanishes and Palestinians take over. Khanna, Beinart, Kristof, Abdul, Rashida, AOC and others think that if they keep pushing, they’ll get there. As someone who knows Arabs intimately, let me tell you what happens if Barghouti is released: He’ll be the most popular Palestinian for the first months or year, will sweep election, but Hamas will still be there. He will run out of steam that he’ll try to compensate for by increasing his anti Israel vitriol. He and Hamas will fight. His closest allies will turn on him. Palestinians will be as restless as ever. Believe me, I was there when their bigger than life Arafat shook Rabin’s hand. Palestinians hated him for agreeing to peace. His aides were whispering to everyone that Arafat was bluffing and that there was no way he’d sign on a document that ends the conflict. Barghouti’s release will never be as big as Arafat shaking the hands of Rabin and Peres. How did that end? Palestinians are not ready for peace, whether Barghouti is in prison, out of prison, or on the moon. This is not a problem of personalities or legitimate leaders. The world is still pushing Palestinians to war with Israel, and the poor Palestinians believer these instigators and the conflict grinds on.