Utopia Talk / Politics / Trump pressuring Israel to end war

murder Member	Sat Nov 30 16:32:54 GOP’s Graham says Trump wants Gaza deal before inauguration US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who was in Israel this week and met with top officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Friday that US President-elect Donald Trump wants to see a Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal before he re-enters the White House in January. He spoke as a Hamas delegation was set to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian officials on a possible ceasefire. “Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal. He wants to see it happening now,” Graham, an ally of the incoming president, told the Axios news site. “I want people in Israel and in the region to know that Trump is focused on the hostages issue. He wants the killing to stop and the fighting to end,” he said. “I hope President Trump and the Biden administration will work together during the transition period to release the hostages and get a ceasefire.” With the new ceasefire in Lebanon this week, US President Joe Biden has shifted attention to Gaza, launching a fresh push to end the 14 months of fighting with a deal that will see the return of 101 hostages still held by terrorists there. Graham’s comments were in line with those Trump made to Netanyahu days before the US election. Two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel last month that if he won, Trump wanted the Gaza war wrapped up before he returned to office. Trump has confirmed having told Netanyahu that he wants Israel to win the war quickly, though he has not publicly given a timeline. He warned at the Republican National Convention in July that those holding American hostages abroad will “pay a very big price” if they aren’t released before he assumes office. Complicating matters, Netanyahu’s coalition includes far-right elements who have opposed hostage deal proposals conditioned on a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and who have voiced their desire to reoccupy the Strip permanently and rebuild Jewish settlements. Graham pushed back against comments by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that Trump’s election victory offers an opportunity to encourage what he termed the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza so that half of the Strip’s 2.2 million residents might be encouraged to leave within two years. “I think he should talk to Trump and hear what he wants. If you haven’t spoken to him, I wouldn’t put words in his mouth,” said Graham, who also voiced opposition to far-right calls to occupy Gaza indefinitely. The US senator also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during his recent Mideast visit, and touched on the subject of normalization with Israel, which he said would have to include a “Palestinian component.” “The best insurance policy against Hamas is not an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza but a reform in the Palestinian society. The only ones who can do that are the Arab countries,” Graham said. The New York Times reported Thursday that Hamas is displaying increased flexibility in long-stalled talks for a deal and may agree to the Israel Defense Forces temporarily remaining on the enclave’s border with Egypt. Citing unnamed US officials, the report said the terror group could give up on core demands and accept a ceasefire deal that Israel could back. According to the outlet, even before a ceasefire was reached between Hezbollah and Israel this week, both Palestinian and US officials had said they thought Hamas was ready to give up on the strategy professed by slain leader Yahya Sinwar and move toward a deal. Citing two people familiar with the terror group’s thinking, the report said leaders of the terror group have been discussing allowing Israel to maintain a temporary presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, the strategic border area between Egypt and Gaza that Israel’s leadership has pledged not to withdraw from. Jerusalem has insisted that troops remain in Gaza to prevent arms smuggling from Egypt and says it is prepared only for a temporary halt in its campaign to destroy Hamas. Netanyahu said in an interview on Thursday that he would agree to a pause in the fighting in Gaza “when we think we can achieve the release of the hostages,” but not accept an end to the war. According to The New York Times report, “reality started to sink in” for Hamas after Sinwar’s death in October, as it became clear that Iran was not looking to open a direct conflict with Israel, and Hezbollah was being hit hard by the IDF. Hamas had hoped its allies in the Iranian axis would remain in the fight and force Israel to accept a ceasefire on Hamas’s terms. Hamas leaders are split over the role it should have after the war and over the compromises it should make to achieve a ceasefire, according to the paper. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal Thursday, Egyptian officials have been in contact with Trump’s staff to gauge whether he could make inroads on softening Israel’s positions in the negotiations, namely regarding control of the Gaza-Egypt border and the creation of a buffer zone between Israel and the Strip. Egyptian officials have also seemingly sought to soften Hamas’s stance, the paper reported, conveying to the group that its negotiating position had weakened since being “isolated” by the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The officials told the group it would unlikely be able to continue insisting on a full Israeli withdrawal, according to the report. Indirect talks aimed at a deal freeing the 101 hostages held in Gaza and ending some 14 months of fighting there have stalled since the summer after multiple rounds of negotiations mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar failed to bring the sides together. Hamas has demanded that any agreement bring a complete end to the war in Gaza, along with a full Israeli withdrawal from the enclave. It also seeks the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages, who were among 251 kidnapped during the terror group’s October 7, 2023, rampage in southern Israel; some 1,200 people were killed during the attack, which prompted the war. http://www...ion-hamas-set-for-cairo-talks/
murder Member	Sat Nov 30 16:34:56 The MAGA States of America are going to end up attacking Israel before Trump is through.
jergul large member	Sun Dec 01 04:34:55 The US cannot keep whittling away on its stockpiles if it wants a strong military posture against China regarding Taiwan. Trump's Cabinet is primarily anti-china. That is the choices silver lining (with a pro chinese turd responsible for government streamlining).
Paramount Member	Sun Dec 01 05:09:42 ”The MAGA States of America are going to end up attacking Israel before Trump is through” Not going to happen. Every single member of Trump’s cabinet is a Israel Firster and has likely been picked by Netanyahu. USA exist to do as Israel says. And even if USA destroys itself on behalf of Israel, aid from USA to Israel will continue.
murder Member	Sun Dec 01 13:28:12 "The US cannot keep whittling away on its stockpiles if it wants a strong military posture against China regarding Taiwan." Land warfare vs naval warfare One doesn't impact the other. And we're not actually worried about China invading Taiwan. If we were, we'd arm Taiwan with something better than whatever is in our junk drawer. I have no idea why we claim to be.
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