At the moment is the second birthday of Child Kfir Bibas, who has spent greater than half of his life in Hamas captivity because the Oct. 7 Jihad bloodbath. The incoming Trump administration has put the Netanyahu authorities underneath strain to achieve a hostage deal that may free 2000 Hamas terrorists and killers and declare a “ceasefire” that can go away Hamas alive to commit extra acts of unspeakable terror down the highway. Particularly the position of Trump Center East negotiator Steve Witkoff and his ties to Hamas-supporting Qatar have come underneath scrutiny.
After seven hours of debate, the Israeli cupboard right this moment accredited a deal to launch round 2,000 terrorists, over 100 of whom are serving life sentences for mass murders, in change for 33 hostages residing or useless. 24 ministers voted in favor of the deal, and eight opposed, together with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, in addition to Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli and MK David Amsalem from Netanyahu’s Likud Get together. The deal will take impact on Sunday, Arutz Sheva reported.
Josh Waller of The Israel Guys referred to as the Hostage Deal “disastrous” and a “sinister scheme happening behind the scenes”.
“33 out of 98 hostages are being launched, however which means there are nonetheless a whole lot of hostages being held”, mentioned Rabbi Jeremy Gimpel, host of “Israel Impressed” podcast, on Josh’s present. “In spite of everything we fought since Oct. 7 – 840 troopers have fallen, 917 civilians have been murdered, 77 law enforcement officials and safety brokers in Israel (have been killed). To bow to this evil, barbaric Hamas group is successful to the nation.”
In response to an account in left-wing Ha’aretz, Trump Center East negotiator Steve Witkoff flew in from Qatar Jan. 11 and ambushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day.
Netanyahu’s aides “politely defined that was in the course of the Sabbath however that the prime minister would gladly meet him Saturday night time. Witkoff’s blunt response took them unexpectedly. He defined to them in salty English that Shabbat was of no curiosity to him. His message was loud and clear. Thus, in an uncommon departure from official observe, the prime minister confirmed up at his workplace for an official assembly with Witkoff, who then returned to Qatar to seal the deal”, Ha’aretz wrote.
Whereas Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has up to now resisted strain from the “worldwide neighborhood” to achieve a take care of the Hamas terrorists, he has now apparently caved to strain from the incoming administration “as a result of he fears Donald Trump,” Center East skilled Daniel Pipes wrote.
Trump had boxed himself right into a nook by stating on Jan. 7 that “all hell will get away” within the Center East if Hamas didn’t launch the captives it held, together with 4 People, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Sagui Dekel-Chen and
Keith Siegel.
Now, the Trump administration appears to have compelled a deal that Safety Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir referred to as “horrific,” saying he would go away the Netanyahu authorities along with his Jewish Energy celebration over it.
The deal is principally the identical deal that the weak, failed Biden Administration has been attempting to drive on Israel since Could 31, 2024, solely now backed by Trump administration muscle.
The Tikva Forum, a patriotic group that represents hostage households, referred to as on cupboard members “to resign instantly and never be a part of a authorities that betrays dozens of hostages, leaving them in captivity!” Tikva Discussion board has referred to as for any Ceasefire deal to incorporate the discharge of all hostages, as President Trump had demanded on Jan. 7.
The Tikva Discussion board of Hostages’ Households is deeply involved by the deal that was signed with a terror group that needs to be destroyed.
This deal leaves dozens of hostages behind in Gaza. It additionally units the stage for the subsequent bloodbath and future kidnappings of Israelis>>
— Tikva Discussion board (@tikvaforumENG) January 15, 2025
Journalist Caroline Glick make clear the position of Steve Witkoff and his enterprise ties to Hamas-supporting Qatar.
“They’ve an infinite sum of money that they use to purchase affect within the West, and particularly in Donald Trump’s circle. And a kind of folks is Steven Witkoff”, Glick mentioned.
“Witkoff owned a property on Central Park South referred to as the Park Lane Resort that had gone into a whole lot of difficulties as a result of his Malaysian associate was uncovered as a fraudster and fled to China”, Glick cited a narrative by the Jewish Insider:
In the summertime of 2023 … Witkoff had sold Manhattan’s troubled Park Lane Resort, which had additionally counted Abu Dhabi’s funding agency as a stakeholder, to the Qatar Funding Authority, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, for $623 million — including to a push into New York actual property.
However along with being a possible asset for Witkoff, who reportedly views Center East geopolitics as “one big actual property deal,” his previous dealings with Qatar specifically may place the incoming envoy in an uncomfortable place, consultants say — because the Gulf state has confronted bipartisan criticism in Congress for internet hosting Hamas management.
The Park Lane sale got here after Qatar had engaged in an aggressive and widespread lobbying effort throughout Trump’s first time period, because the president-elect sided with Saudi Arabia and different neighboring states that had imposed a blockade on the Gulf nation.
In search of to construct goodwill with the U.S., Qatar launched a marketing campaign to affect a whole lot of individuals near Trump, together with Witkoff, who was amongst a number of American executives to satisfy with Qatari officers, according to foreign lobbying disclosures that broadly describe a collection of “introductions” to “facilitate collaboration” and talk about “enterprise alternatives,” amongst different issues.
Nick Muzin, a Republican operative who helped lead the Qatari lobbying operation, mentioned in an electronic mail to JI that he had “launched” Witkoff “to the Qatari management in 2017-2018,” however he didn’t reply to follow-up questions relating to the substance of their discussions or who was current for the conferences.
Ben Baird, the director of advocacy for the Center East Discussion board, a conservative coverage suppose tank, expressed considerations that Witkoff had been focused by Qatar — suggesting the resort sale was a part of what he referred to as an ongoing “attraction offensive” reaching inside “Trump’s internal circle of billionaire policymakers,” together with Elon Musk and others.
“The worry in Jerusalem is that Witkoff was planning to make an much more expansive deal alongside the strains of what the Biden Administration was attempting to do, and use the Could 31 provide for the idea of much more profoundly pro-Hamas deal-maiking”, Glick mentioned. “After I heard the information (of the deal) I used to be surprised. Why would they do this? Then when the story got here out about his enterprise relationship with Qatar, which is the state sponsor of Hamas, and the Taliban, Al-Qaida, ISIS., and so on., issues began to look very disturbing.”
Steve Witkoff can also be the co-chair of President Trump’s inauguration committee, which has come underneath fireplace for inviting a radical Professional-Hezbollah Imam to steer a prayer on the Inauguration Monday.
Imam Husham Al-Husainy of the Karbalaa Islamic Instructional Heart in Dearborn, Michigan has a “vital historical past of extremism”, the Middle East Forum revealed. “In 2015, he and his group hosted a rally … during which he wished demise upon Saudi Arabia, and denounced Saudis as “brokers of the Jews” whose “Zionist” planes “rain down” demise upon the folks of Yemen.”
In 2006, at a pro-Hezbollah rally in Dearborn, Michigan, Al-Husainy “held the image of Hezbollah chief [Hassan] Nasrallah aloft on the stage.”
Hearken to Imam Husham Al-Husainy scream at Sean Hannity for five minutes straight to keep away from answering whether or not he helps Hezbollah pic.twitter.com/cNHV8v5RRW
— Daniel Greenfield – “Dangle Collectively or Individually” (@Sultanknish) January 13, 2025
In 2007, Al-Husainy had a shouting match with Fox Information host Sean Hannity on air over his assist for Islamic terror group Hezbollah.
This was at at time when Iranian- and Hezbollah-linked Jihadis have been killing approx. 4500 US service members in Iraq.
It’s unclear why the Trump inauguration committee invited a radical terror-supporting preacher on Jan. 20.
Dearborn’s Imam Husham Al-Husainy is scheduled to ship a ‘prayer’ at Trump’s inauguration
.
He’s an Iraqi Hezbollah supporter with ties to Iran who delivered a DNC prayer attacking the US, pushed pretend ‘Islamophobic’ hate crimes and wished to impose Sharia regulationThread pic.twitter.com/OVwjraZ1Ic
— Daniel Greenfield – “Dangle Collectively or Individually” (@Sultanknish) January 13, 2025
