Israel–United States relations and associated politics

[Victoria Raverna]

Does that mean, the pro Palestinian voters who didn't vote for Kamala were correct? This ceasefire is because of Trump?

[hepcat]

Wait a few more days....

Also, you missed this part

Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz said on CNN on Wednesday that the incoming administration made it clear to Netanyahu that if Hamas reneges on any part of the deal, the U.S. will back Israel.

And you've not been paying attention if you think this means the Trump administration will work in any way, shape or form to better the lives of Palestinians. Remember: he moved our embassy to Jerusalem as a sign of his bias. If you believe for one second that Trump is a friend to Palestinians (or Muslims in general) then you've been in a sound proof closet for the last 8 years.

[Victoria Raverna]

But don't you think Trump has something to do with the agreement being signed at this time? Biden had several months to get it done but only after Trump convinced Israel that the ceasefire agreement is finally signed.

As for Trump backing Israel, what do you think the US under Biden was doing so far? Backing Palestinian? Being neutral? It is clear that US under BIden always backed Israel. Biden might be "upset" about Israel's actions in Gaza but that didn't stop Biden from backing Israel. US went against the whole world to back Israel.

Both BIden and Trump are friends to Israel but at least now there is a ceasefire because of Trump's influence.

[Max Peck]

For now, but a lasting ceasefire is the last thing that Netanyahu needs at the moment. I wouldn't want to bet that the Gaza strip or West Bank exist as anything but fully annexed Israeli territory by the end of the current Trump term in office. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that plays out.

[Victoria Raverna]

Chris Hayes is right about this:



Not that Trump is going to be better.

[hepcat]

You're either perfect or a villain for some.

[Victoria Raverna]

Don't have be perfect to be not a villain, but a genocide enabler is clearly a villain.

[hepcat]

It was always going to be a kobayashi maru for Biden and his administration.

[El Guapo]

It is plausible to think that this ceasefire deal might not have happened now if Trump did not win. It is exceedingly unlikely that pro-Palestinian activists will be happier with Trump as president than Harris.

[Max Peck]

I have no idea what Trump may or may not have said to Bibi to get him to sign on, but we do know what he threatened to do to Gaza if there was no deal in place by the time he took office, so I have a good idea why Hamas agreed to sign on.

I don't really expect the ceasefire to hold much longer than it takes Trump to notch up his win, and we'll be back to seeing Gaza razed soon enough. I'd love to be proven wrong, though, so here's hoping Netanyahu and Trump serve me up a feast of crow.

[Max Peck]

How historic Gaza deal was sealed with 10 minutes to spare

The Israeli and Hamas negotiators never came face to face - but by the end, just one floor separated them.

Ceasefire talks via middlemen from Qatar, Egypt and the US had been dragging on for several months, at times without hope. Now the key players were all inside one building in Doha and the pace was frantic.

A deal was close but things had gone wrong before: one source described a last-minute push to stop the agreement breaking down while a podium was being set up so the Qatari prime minister could announce it.

"Literally, negotiations were up until 10 minutes before the press conference. So that's how things were stitched up at the last minute," the source familiar with the talks said.

The BBC has spoken to a number of officials on all sides of the negotiations to piece together how the final fraught days of the secretive process unfolded.

[Unagi]

How historic Gaza deal was sealed with 10 minutes to spare

The Israeli and Hamas negotiators never came face to face - but by the end, just one floor separated them.

Ceasefire talks via middlemen from Qatar, Egypt and the US had been dragging on for several months, at times without hope. Now the key players were all inside one building in Doha and the pace was frantic.

A deal was close but things had gone wrong before: one source described a last-minute push to stop the agreement breaking down while a podium was being set up so the Qatari prime minister could announce it.

"Literally, negotiations were up until 10 minutes before the press conference. So that's how things were stitched up at the last minute," the source familiar with the talks said.

The BBC has spoken to a number of officials on all sides of the negotiations to piece together how the final fraught days of the secretive process unfolded.

was that a last minute push "to stop the agreement breaking down".
or
was that a last minute push "to stop the agreement" breaking down.

?

[Max Peck]

The first, I'd presume. I didn't take anything from the article to the effect that any factions were actively trying to block the agreement, but failed in the end. The gist seems to be that there were issues that didn't get resolved until mere minutes prior to the agreement being finalized.

[Zarathud]

It is plausible to think that this ceasefire deal might not have happened now if Trump did not win. It is exceedingly unlikely that pro-Palestinian activists will be happier with Trump as president than Harris.

A ceasefire deal wasn’t going to happen until after the U.S. elections. Only then both sides no longer had a reason to hold out and negotiate a better deal under the new administration.

[LawBeefaroni]

What was that Hamas dog and pony show today with the hostage release? Most of the footage/photos of the released Israeli hostages is them in front of a banner with Hamas slogans about Nazi Zionists. WTF? And they gave them swag bags before sending them over? Certificates of...something? Surely this was all under duress but all the news I'm seeing happily uses the Hamas images.

I would think terms of the deal would include not using the hostages as propaganda tools on the way out the door. The credulity of our "news" outlets is ridiculous.

[Max Peck]

What was that Hamas dog and pony show today with the hostage release? Most of the footage/photos of the released Israeli hostages is them in front of a banner with Hamas slogans about Nazi Zionists. WTF? And they gave them swag bags before sending them over? Certificates of...something? Surely this was all under duress but all the news I'm seeing happily uses the Hamas images.

I would think terms of the deal would include not using the hostages as propaganda tools on the way out the door. The credulity of our "news" outlets is ridiculous.

CBC coverage did include one Reuters photo of the staged photo op, but other than that they just mentioned that it was unusual that the Israeli hostage were smiling and waving when they were released and didn't otherwise give any exposure to the Hamas event. Most of the video coverage showed the hostages aftward, on an aircraft heading to an Israeli hospital and reuniting with their families.

[Smoove_B]

Well, here we go with Gaza:

President Donald Trump said Saturday he’d like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip — potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump also said he’s ended his predecessor’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. That lifts a pressure point that had been meant to reduce civilian casualties during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza that is now halted by a tenuous ceasefire.

“We released them today,” Trump said of the bombs. “They’ve been waiting for them for a long time.” Asked why he lifted the ban on those bombs, Trump responded, “Because they bought them.”

...

“I’d like Egypt to take people,” Trump said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over.’”

Trump said he complimented Jordan for having successfully accepted Palestinian refugees and that he told the king, “I’d love for you to take on more, cause I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess. It’s a real mess.”

More:

Such a drastic displacement of people would openly contradict Palestinian identity and deep connection to Gaza. Still, Trump said the part of the world that encompasses Gaza, has “had many, many conflicts” over centuries. He said resettling “could be temporary or long term.”

“Something has to happen,” Trump said. “But it’s literally a demolition site right now. Almost everything’s demolished, and people are dying there.” He added: “So, I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”

[Victoria Raverna]

So in the end, the choice is to stay in Gaza and be wiped out. Or move out of Gaza and stay alive.

[Alefroth]

So in the end, the choice is to stay in Gaza and be wiped out. Or move out of Gaza and stay alive.

Huh, who could have predicted that?

[Kraken]

So in the end, the choice is to stay in Gaza and be wiped out. Or move out of Gaza and stay alive.

Huh, who could have predicted that?

All your base belong to us.

[LawBeefaroni]

So in the end, the choice is to stay in Gaza and be wiped out. Or move out of Gaza and stay alive.

Huh, who could have predicted that?

Certainly not a large block of misled Democratic voters.

[Victoria Raverna]

So in the end, the choice is to stay in Gaza and be wiped out. Or move out of Gaza and stay alive.

Huh, who could have predicted that?

People that said there is an ongoing genocide in Gaza? That is the ending of genocide. Complete wipe out for those that don't escape.

[Max Peck]

Lol, so Trump's solution to end fighting in the Middle East is literal genocide (although I doubt he understands that mass relocation of the entire population constitutes genocide).

I wonder how many Trump properties will spring up on the Mediterranean coast of New Gaza once it's been cleansed...

[Holman]

Trump and Netanyahu just want this terrible violence to end.

Maybe they've got a solution, you know, finally.

[El Guapo]

Lol, so Trump's solution to end fighting in the Middle East is literal genocide (although I doubt he understands that mass relocation of the entire population constitutes genocide).

I wonder how many Trump properties will spring up on the Mediterranean coast of New Gaza once it's been cleansed...

Well strictly speaking that's ethnic cleansing not genocide. Not that that makes it better.

[Max Peck]

Lol, so Trump's solution to end fighting in the Middle East is literal genocide (although I doubt he understands that mass relocation of the entire population constitutes genocide).

I wonder how many Trump properties will spring up on the Mediterranean coast of New Gaza once it's been cleansed...

Well strictly speaking that's ethnic cleansing not genocide. Not that that makes it better.

Fair enough, I should have checked to see whether ethnic cleansing was its own thing instead of relying on my unreliable memory.

[El Guapo]

Lol, so Trump's solution to end fighting in the Middle East is literal genocide (although I doubt he understands that mass relocation of the entire population constitutes genocide).

I wonder how many Trump properties will spring up on the Mediterranean coast of New Gaza once it's been cleansed...

Well strictly speaking that's ethnic cleansing not genocide. Not that that makes it better.

Fair enough, I should have checked to see whether ethnic cleansing was its own thing instead of relying on my unreliable memory.

As it happens at dinner last night my 12 year old asked me what "ethnic cleansing" was, having seen something about Trump's comments online. At least the way he said "ethnic -clean-zing" was kind of cute.

[El Guapo]

Trump says the Palestinians have "no alternative" to leaving Gaza. But don't worry because they would love to leave Gaza.

Lest you think he's favoring Israel, though, he said he doesn't necessarily support Israelis moving in, he just supports "cleaning it up and doing something with it." So get excited for Trumpland to come to the region in 2026.

[hepcat]

Mar-a-Gaza

[Alefroth]

I wonder why it's so deadly. Maybe that guy next to him has some insight.

[hepcat]

I like the part where Trump says building Palestinian Disneyland will be funded by OTHER nations...and Netanyahu spins in his chair abruptly with a weird expression on his face that almost seems to say "what the fuck are you talking about you delusional moron?".

[IceBear]

I like the part where Trump says building Palestinian Disneyland will be funded by OTHER nations...and Netanyahu spins in his chair abruptly with a weird expression on his face that almost seems to say "what the fuck are you talking about you delusional moron?".

And she'll never be allowed in again

[Alefroth]

I'm surprised she was initially.

[$iljanus]

Trump says the Palestinians have "no alternative" to leaving Gaza. But don't worry because they would love to leave Gaza.

Lest you think he's favoring Israel, though, he said he doesn't necessarily support Israelis moving in, he just supports "cleaning it up and doing something with it." So get excited for Trumpland to come to the region in 2026.

Well then. For all those Arab Americans who supported Trump or sat out the election here’s the solution. But hey, at least during the election you were listened to by someone from the Trump campaign. He probably smiled a bit too and maybe threw in a “Trump is with you.”

[Alefroth]

The Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala contingent are sure silent on social media now. Almost makes me think it was a foreign operation.

[Dogstar]

[Kurth]

The Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala contingent are sure silent on social media now. Almost makes me think it was a foreign operation.

I think not. I think they have to own what they did, not pawn it off on some vague allegations of foreign interference.

[$iljanus]

Well, a US takeover of Gaza. I'm sure that will go over really well with all militants and every Arab nation in the region. Quite unifying.

[Skinypupy]

Just now catching up on today’s news. Holy fuck.

There’s no possible way this ends without mass casualty events somewhere, if not everywhere.

[Pyperkub]

Trump creating 1.8 million terrorists.