I’m glad to hear a cease fire may be imminent. I am very cautiously optimistic. I believe Trump and Netanyahu made a pact when Netanyahu was here a number of months ago and went to Mar-a-logo. Once Trump was elected, only then, would he agree to a cease fire.
I think Biden and Blinkin deserve full credit for this achievement. Trump would like everyone to believe that his election was the sole motivating factor in bringing the sides together.
Cathy ,few people will be surprised if felon 34 won't take all the credit of 15 months of complicated diplomatic negotiations by the Biden administration
This is all Kabuki theater; Likud was founded on the principle of Eretz Israel, the restoration of the ancient boundaries of the Jewish state. All of Bibi's partners in government share that end-game aspiration. This is a chess move, nothing more.
"From the river to the sea" is the Palestinian motto that expresses the yearning for the overturning of their displacement and the end of their apartheid-engineered condition. It's often derided by the Israeli Right as an antisemitic threat.
But it is also a direct quote from Likud's founding statement of purpose ("from the Jordan to the sea" in that document), and that side holds all the cards. Kabuki, chess, card games...those are of course bloodless metaphors that also serve the interests of that apartheid regime.
This pogrom was set up by the studied ignorance, by Bibi's govt, of the weeks-long series of dire warnings by border guards and observers that Hamas was practicing to do exactly what they did on 10/7. Bibi, like George W Bush prior to 9/11, ignored the ample warnings of an imminent attack because he wanted, indeed he needed this "war."
What we have now in Gaza is the convenient demolition of "substandard infrastructure," to make way for the Gaza Phase of the Eretz Israel. Last year, the vampire Jared Kushner opined on the suitability of the Gaza shoreline for luxury resorts. Trump himself has also commented about how the Palestinians have missed a sure bet by not tastefully developing their prison yard.
But sure, give Blinken his due: it took much longer to get to this point in the demolition phase of the project, which made it look like he was trying to stop it.
Sounds hopeful, I guess but I have to wonder what will happen when trump takes the presidency. Seems to me he told Bibi that he could do whatever it took to get rid of Hamas. But then again we all know how much trump likes to take credit for things he did not accomplish so he may very well go along with all this so that he can strut around bragging about how he brought peace to the Middle East, big peace, big beautiful peace, the biggest, best peace in the history of the world. Isn't that about right?
The sun has been rising and setting daily on the United States since the day it was founded. Come the morning of January 21, Trump will take credit for the sun rising that morning (and of course it will be the best sunrise ever)… and the MAGA idiots will agree and celebrate him for it. Donald this never could have happened without you.
"Implementation will likely be very dicey, given the deep lack of trust between the parties and the logistical challenges of their commitments." And that's putting it mildly.
I take issue with the assertion that Hamas was primarily responsible for the delays in agreeing to a cease fire. While they certainly played their part, Netanyahu continually added last minute conditions whenever an agreement was close.
On the road to reelection, the Dear Leader made many promises, most of which will never come to pass: like he was going to end the war in Ukraine and lower the cost of groceries. Biden and his administration have been negotiating a cease file ever since the war started. The Dear Leader had nothing to do with it. He will take credit now if, and only if, the peace deal is permanent. If things don't work out, I guarantee he will blame Biden.
Thanks for laying this out. Quite disappointing, however, your minimizing the efforts of the Biden administration for the past 15 months, save one sentence. Giving their efforts the same amount of ink as Trump's efforts is a bit discomforting to me and will color how view your future articles on this topic.
Biden and Blinken were hapless bystanders, who nonetheless shunted the bulk of the bombs and bullets to the fascist Netanyahu regime as they decimated a society to avenge an atrocity that they refused to prevent, despite ample warnings and lead time. Oh, and that atrocity was allowed to occur in a very liberal portion of Israel, which helped solidify support for the pogrom that issued.
Biden has been wary of castigating Bibi for his atrocities because he knows he'd be labeled antisemitic, despite the fact that war crimes were running rampant.
The guy Biden eulogized in a speech a few days ago extolling his idelible character, the guy who was the heroric driving force of the Camp David Accords, didn't have that problem:
That's NYT reporting about the story I call "The Blind Eye." It's about the IDF and the Israeli govt studiously dismissing, for months, dire warnings of a Hamas attack, in just the area where 10/7 occurred, and using the very tactics that IDF observers had watched being practiced, all of which they were frantically transmitting up the chain of command in the weeks and months prior to 10/7.
It seems to me the elephant in the room was ignored in your piece, Ilan. The elephant is Syria, and along with that, Russian influence.
Without Assad and Russian access RIGHT NEXT DOOR, Hamas and Hezbollah lost a huge bargaining chip. How was this overlooked in your analysis???? I'm so disappointed.
"The fact that both Trump’s representative and Biden’s were in Doha together was an exceptionally rare example of bipartisan cooperation on a seemingly impossible issue."
I cannot agree with. There is *nothing* bipartisan about Trump's representatives there. Biden permitted it, but Trump only sent them to help lay claim that HE brought about the agreement. This was happening with the complete absence of Trump's people or any of his rhetoric.
You give Trump undeserved and unwarranted credit for *anything*. Biden and Blinken—and unspoken aides—did it.
I would like to know if Israel will be held responsible for the atrocities committed by their military including but not limited to the violent assault and torture of physicians in Gaza hospitals leading to their inexcusable deaths. The forced stripping and marching in the cold of Palestinian men. The deliberate and almost joyful explosion of facilities of hope that were clearly empty and not harboring Hamas (a ready lie often repeated) like hospitals and universities. Investigation into these crimes should not be conducted by Israel because, come on, do we let the person on trial investigate themselves?
As for Biden and his administrations work? They tried- they really did. And they supported Israel and Israel basically snubbed Biden and as in extension the American people: Biden and Blinken would ask for answers from Israel when civilians and hospitals were attacked and video footage showed only injured people and doctors were being affected and Israel would not answer or claim without any evidence that Hamas was there. It could have ended after a month if Israel had released Palestinian prisoners which many have been held without charges and were arrested for defending their homes. 1000 prisoners were held without any formal charges being brought. But Netanyahu never cared about those hostages - they were a sacrifice - a means to this end.
It really doesn’t matter how this deal was arranged. Perhaps Hamas was more willing to negotiate with Biden and worried about Trump. Perhaps Trump strong armed Netanyahu. Perhaps all the stars were aligned. Perhaps some God decided that this must end. Whatever the reason, let us hope and work towards making this settlement for the benefit of all.
Not gonna happen. Those in charge in Israel want only one thing: complete sovereignty from the Jordan to the sea. The apartheid conditions in the west bank and Gaza will give way to Israeli direct jurisdiction. Eminent domain will be the new watchword, as Palestinians go from being subjugated to being completely disenfranchised of any rights, other than the right to serve their overlords.
It is a grave and ignorant mistake to assume that a people who have been the victims of historically evil crimes that were driven by ethnic hate could not be capable of similar injustices... if subjected to an enabling paranoia and under the direction of souless, malevolent leadership.
The inability of Biden and Blinken to acknowledge war criminality in Gaza was a grave and ignorant mistake.
An interesting summation of what has happened and where we all might go from here. But to assume that Hamas will somehow be replaced as the rulers of Gaza without some sort of extended occupation period--either by the PA or Israel or some pan-Arab police force--is magical thinking at best. Hamas is mostly destroyed, but is still the only cohesive military force besides the IDF inside Gaza. It's hard to imagine they would willingly give up power.
A truce is one thing, given up power it's another. That point will be reached in the near future and if not solved diplomatically, the truce will be history.
A truce--if binding--is a legitimization of Hamas' rule. Because it codifies an at least partial IDF withdrawal. And since there's no progress yet on the PA or a multi-nation Arab peacekeeping force occupying the territory, Hamas remains the last man standing. For better or worse.
Your point is well taken Nubby but there's a factor not being taken into consideration, yet. The civilian population of Gaza must be up to hat with Hamas taking such stupid and irresponsible pogrom against Israel with the consequence of terrible suffering of the Palestinians in terms of lives and wealth. My hope is they eventually realized that no other outcome would result from such an attack. They might start questioning the wisdom of Hamas miscalculation of Israel's reaction and the terrible toll on them and eventually, given the weaknesses among the militants and with someone external help ,finally revolt against their grip and start a new period as Lebanon is doing .
I’m just glad this ceasefire is finally here, though I say this with much caution as well. Of course Trump will try to claim the cease fire was due to his input, but we all know it was Biden and Blinktin who did all the painstaking and tireless work.
I heard today, from a guest on NPR, that Netanyahu has suddenly come to the table partly because, after four years of leading Biden around by the nose he feels he won't be able to do that to Trump. That's not to give Trump any credit, but the dynamic will certainly change with Trump in the White House, if only because he's not amenable to advice or direction from anyone unless he sees some advantage to himself. In this case the advantage may be just that he can now claim to have brought peace (and he'll say that, too, true or not).
I hear this sort of thing too, also on NPR. The phrase was something like “people are saying Trump’s statement that ‘all hell will break loose if the hostages aren’t released’ helped bring Netanyahu…”
One of the things I find so objectionable about these statements is the reference to “people are saying…” This is precisely the phrase Trump uses to introduce a lie. If indeed “people” are saying this, they don’t include Biden or Blinken or the people who are on the inside of these very delicate negotiations. The other thing I object to is the notion that anyone thinks Trump’s bluster is supported by an actual plan. What exactly was Trump going to do? Punish Israel? Bomb Gaza?
I appreciate Biden’s grace and common sense in including Trump people in this final phase of negotiations. It’s also a clever strategy because the more ownership Trump takes of it, the better. That said, I cannot abide pundits and reporters who credit Trump despite having zero evidence to support their view.
Talking about seeking advantage to himself, and being told that President Carter and Obama were awarded the Nobel Peace prize he decided to give it a try to get one too by taking credit of what he didn't do. He was awarded with other two enviable titles, The first and only convicted felon president and first and only illegitimate president.
I’m glad to hear a cease fire may be imminent. I am very cautiously optimistic. I believe Trump and Netanyahu made a pact when Netanyahu was here a number of months ago and went to Mar-a-logo. Once Trump was elected, only then, would he agree to a cease fire.
Biden’s and Blinkins hard work paid off.
But Trump will say he is the only architect.
I think Biden and Blinkin deserve full credit for this achievement. Trump would like everyone to believe that his election was the sole motivating factor in bringing the sides together.
100%. Sad that this great new source seems to be falling into the right wing narrative on Trump getting credit!
That's not true.
Cathy ,few people will be surprised if felon 34 won't take all the credit of 15 months of complicated diplomatic negotiations by the Biden administration
I'm surprised they didn't wait until inauguration day to announce, so the orange clown could bask in the glow of his genius. What an utter moron.
Rick, you are too nice describing "him". Please, next time try harder. 😁
And it’ll be up to his team to make it work…this isn’t over by a long shot.
I’m not at all sure T…p can be trusted unless it’s all about him. Sad.
Deborah it's the beginning of the beginning and lots of opportunities to fall back into old habits on both parts.
Very true…
He's more likely an architect of why it didn't end sooner.
Thank you for the excellent summary of such a complicated situation. I sincerely hope the deal holds.
This is all Kabuki theater; Likud was founded on the principle of Eretz Israel, the restoration of the ancient boundaries of the Jewish state. All of Bibi's partners in government share that end-game aspiration. This is a chess move, nothing more.
"From the river to the sea" is the Palestinian motto that expresses the yearning for the overturning of their displacement and the end of their apartheid-engineered condition. It's often derided by the Israeli Right as an antisemitic threat.
But it is also a direct quote from Likud's founding statement of purpose ("from the Jordan to the sea" in that document), and that side holds all the cards. Kabuki, chess, card games...those are of course bloodless metaphors that also serve the interests of that apartheid regime.
This pogrom was set up by the studied ignorance, by Bibi's govt, of the weeks-long series of dire warnings by border guards and observers that Hamas was practicing to do exactly what they did on 10/7. Bibi, like George W Bush prior to 9/11, ignored the ample warnings of an imminent attack because he wanted, indeed he needed this "war."
What we have now in Gaza is the convenient demolition of "substandard infrastructure," to make way for the Gaza Phase of the Eretz Israel. Last year, the vampire Jared Kushner opined on the suitability of the Gaza shoreline for luxury resorts. Trump himself has also commented about how the Palestinians have missed a sure bet by not tastefully developing their prison yard.
But sure, give Blinken his due: it took much longer to get to this point in the demolition phase of the project, which made it look like he was trying to stop it.
Link to the Likud founding document:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/original-party-platform-of-the-likud-party
The actual wording is a bit more aggressive than I quoted from memory, above.
Sounds hopeful, I guess but I have to wonder what will happen when trump takes the presidency. Seems to me he told Bibi that he could do whatever it took to get rid of Hamas. But then again we all know how much trump likes to take credit for things he did not accomplish so he may very well go along with all this so that he can strut around bragging about how he brought peace to the Middle East, big peace, big beautiful peace, the biggest, best peace in the history of the world. Isn't that about right?
The biggest piece
The sun has been rising and setting daily on the United States since the day it was founded. Come the morning of January 21, Trump will take credit for the sun rising that morning (and of course it will be the best sunrise ever)… and the MAGA idiots will agree and celebrate him for it. Donald this never could have happened without you.
"Implementation will likely be very dicey, given the deep lack of trust between the parties and the logistical challenges of their commitments." And that's putting it mildly.
I needed good news today, most of us did.
The fires here in L.A., Hegseth, and the impending inauguration have been too much.
I take issue with the assertion that Hamas was primarily responsible for the delays in agreeing to a cease fire. While they certainly played their part, Netanyahu continually added last minute conditions whenever an agreement was close.
According to Blinken, Hamas was the bigger obstacle.
On the road to reelection, the Dear Leader made many promises, most of which will never come to pass: like he was going to end the war in Ukraine and lower the cost of groceries. Biden and his administration have been negotiating a cease file ever since the war started. The Dear Leader had nothing to do with it. He will take credit now if, and only if, the peace deal is permanent. If things don't work out, I guarantee he will blame Biden.
You don't need a crystal ball for that Gloria. We all know felon 34 but your comment is well taken and you are 💯 % right ✅️
Felon 34 already advertised on his 'social' platform that he brokered the deal.
Just wait for felon 34 to start taking credit for Biden's accomplishments.
Bottomless Marli, Bottomless. 🥴
Thanks for laying this out. Quite disappointing, however, your minimizing the efforts of the Biden administration for the past 15 months, save one sentence. Giving their efforts the same amount of ink as Trump's efforts is a bit discomforting to me and will color how view your future articles on this topic.
Biden and Blinken were hapless bystanders, who nonetheless shunted the bulk of the bombs and bullets to the fascist Netanyahu regime as they decimated a society to avenge an atrocity that they refused to prevent, despite ample warnings and lead time. Oh, and that atrocity was allowed to occur in a very liberal portion of Israel, which helped solidify support for the pogrom that issued.
Biden has been wary of castigating Bibi for his atrocities because he knows he'd be labeled antisemitic, despite the fact that war crimes were running rampant.
The guy Biden eulogized in a speech a few days ago extolling his idelible character, the guy who was the heroric driving force of the Camp David Accords, didn't have that problem:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/30/jimmy-carter-israel-apartheid-palestinians
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html
That's NYT reporting about the story I call "The Blind Eye." It's about the IDF and the Israeli govt studiously dismissing, for months, dire warnings of a Hamas attack, in just the area where 10/7 occurred, and using the very tactics that IDF observers had watched being practiced, all of which they were frantically transmitting up the chain of command in the weeks and months prior to 10/7.
It seems to me the elephant in the room was ignored in your piece, Ilan. The elephant is Syria, and along with that, Russian influence.
Without Assad and Russian access RIGHT NEXT DOOR, Hamas and Hezbollah lost a huge bargaining chip. How was this overlooked in your analysis???? I'm so disappointed.
"The fact that both Trump’s representative and Biden’s were in Doha together was an exceptionally rare example of bipartisan cooperation on a seemingly impossible issue."
I cannot agree with. There is *nothing* bipartisan about Trump's representatives there. Biden permitted it, but Trump only sent them to help lay claim that HE brought about the agreement. This was happening with the complete absence of Trump's people or any of his rhetoric.
You give Trump undeserved and unwarranted credit for *anything*. Biden and Blinken—and unspoken aides—did it.
To wit: https://newrepublic.com/post/190271/donald-trump-israel-gaza-cease-fire-hostages?
When posting a link, it's best to delete everything after the question mark in a URL. That's tracking code. (This doesn't apply to YouTube URLs.)
Good point, thx. Corrected.
Should have noted to delete the question mark as well. Still, it worked!
I would like to know if Israel will be held responsible for the atrocities committed by their military including but not limited to the violent assault and torture of physicians in Gaza hospitals leading to their inexcusable deaths. The forced stripping and marching in the cold of Palestinian men. The deliberate and almost joyful explosion of facilities of hope that were clearly empty and not harboring Hamas (a ready lie often repeated) like hospitals and universities. Investigation into these crimes should not be conducted by Israel because, come on, do we let the person on trial investigate themselves?
As for Biden and his administrations work? They tried- they really did. And they supported Israel and Israel basically snubbed Biden and as in extension the American people: Biden and Blinken would ask for answers from Israel when civilians and hospitals were attacked and video footage showed only injured people and doctors were being affected and Israel would not answer or claim without any evidence that Hamas was there. It could have ended after a month if Israel had released Palestinian prisoners which many have been held without charges and were arrested for defending their homes. 1000 prisoners were held without any formal charges being brought. But Netanyahu never cared about those hostages - they were a sacrifice - a means to this end.
It really doesn’t matter how this deal was arranged. Perhaps Hamas was more willing to negotiate with Biden and worried about Trump. Perhaps Trump strong armed Netanyahu. Perhaps all the stars were aligned. Perhaps some God decided that this must end. Whatever the reason, let us hope and work towards making this settlement for the benefit of all.
Not gonna happen. Those in charge in Israel want only one thing: complete sovereignty from the Jordan to the sea. The apartheid conditions in the west bank and Gaza will give way to Israeli direct jurisdiction. Eminent domain will be the new watchword, as Palestinians go from being subjugated to being completely disenfranchised of any rights, other than the right to serve their overlords.
It is a grave and ignorant mistake to assume that a people who have been the victims of historically evil crimes that were driven by ethnic hate could not be capable of similar injustices... if subjected to an enabling paranoia and under the direction of souless, malevolent leadership.
The inability of Biden and Blinken to acknowledge war criminality in Gaza was a grave and ignorant mistake.
An interesting summation of what has happened and where we all might go from here. But to assume that Hamas will somehow be replaced as the rulers of Gaza without some sort of extended occupation period--either by the PA or Israel or some pan-Arab police force--is magical thinking at best. Hamas is mostly destroyed, but is still the only cohesive military force besides the IDF inside Gaza. It's hard to imagine they would willingly give up power.
A truce is one thing, given up power it's another. That point will be reached in the near future and if not solved diplomatically, the truce will be history.
A truce--if binding--is a legitimization of Hamas' rule. Because it codifies an at least partial IDF withdrawal. And since there's no progress yet on the PA or a multi-nation Arab peacekeeping force occupying the territory, Hamas remains the last man standing. For better or worse.
Your point is well taken Nubby but there's a factor not being taken into consideration, yet. The civilian population of Gaza must be up to hat with Hamas taking such stupid and irresponsible pogrom against Israel with the consequence of terrible suffering of the Palestinians in terms of lives and wealth. My hope is they eventually realized that no other outcome would result from such an attack. They might start questioning the wisdom of Hamas miscalculation of Israel's reaction and the terrible toll on them and eventually, given the weaknesses among the militants and with someone external help ,finally revolt against their grip and start a new period as Lebanon is doing .
Is that it? A deal that could have agreed upon in May but for Netanyahu.
Hamas wouldn't deal. To this moment, there haven't been real negotiations.
Qatar is not an honest broker, not a mediator, has "unclean hands."
Their US lawyer, Pam Bondi, is testifying today to be attorney general of the United States.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h05i6mJlh9Y
They have been paying her $115,000/month. For what?
Saudis could have stopped it early on.
I’m just glad this ceasefire is finally here, though I say this with much caution as well. Of course Trump will try to claim the cease fire was due to his input, but we all know it was Biden and Blinktin who did all the painstaking and tireless work.
I heard today, from a guest on NPR, that Netanyahu has suddenly come to the table partly because, after four years of leading Biden around by the nose he feels he won't be able to do that to Trump. That's not to give Trump any credit, but the dynamic will certainly change with Trump in the White House, if only because he's not amenable to advice or direction from anyone unless he sees some advantage to himself. In this case the advantage may be just that he can now claim to have brought peace (and he'll say that, too, true or not).
I hear this sort of thing too, also on NPR. The phrase was something like “people are saying Trump’s statement that ‘all hell will break loose if the hostages aren’t released’ helped bring Netanyahu…”
One of the things I find so objectionable about these statements is the reference to “people are saying…” This is precisely the phrase Trump uses to introduce a lie. If indeed “people” are saying this, they don’t include Biden or Blinken or the people who are on the inside of these very delicate negotiations. The other thing I object to is the notion that anyone thinks Trump’s bluster is supported by an actual plan. What exactly was Trump going to do? Punish Israel? Bomb Gaza?
I appreciate Biden’s grace and common sense in including Trump people in this final phase of negotiations. It’s also a clever strategy because the more ownership Trump takes of it, the better. That said, I cannot abide pundits and reporters who credit Trump despite having zero evidence to support their view.
Let that reporter know!
Talking about seeking advantage to himself, and being told that President Carter and Obama were awarded the Nobel Peace prize he decided to give it a try to get one too by taking credit of what he didn't do. He was awarded with other two enviable titles, The first and only convicted felon president and first and only illegitimate president.