Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has added several new demands amid negotiations for the second of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, Israel’s Channel 13 has reported.
The report said Netanyahu is demanding Hamas leadership be exiled, for Gaza to be demilitarized, and for Israel to continue maintaining “security control” of the Strip, which would mean a continued Israeli military occupation or blockade.
Hamas has rejected Israeli calls for the group to be disarmed, and its main demand has been for an Israeli withdrawal, meaning it would be unlikely to agree to an arrangement that keeps Israeli troops in Gaza. On Wednesday, Hamas offered to release all remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal.
Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s envoy for the Middle East, acknowledged on Thursday that it would be “difficult” for the second phase of the ceasefire to be implemented but said it was a possibility.
“The issue with [phase] two is that there’s supposed to be an end to the war, and the Israelis have a red line that Hamas cannot be in the government,” Witkoff said. “It’s hard to square that circle, but we’re making a lot of progress in that conversation, and hopefully it leads to good things and good results.”
Witkoff also defended Trump’s calls for the US to “take over” Gaza, which would require an ethnic cleansing campaign since Palestinians don’t want to leave despite the massive destruction caused by the US-backed Israeli siege and bombing campaign.
“I sat in Gaza with a bulletproof vest looking at the scenery, and I don’t know why anyone would want to live there today. It’s illogical to me,” Witkoff said.
The Trump administration has also backed Netanyahu’s stated goal of “eradicating” Hamas, signaling the US is ready to support Israel if it decides to restart its genocidal war on Gaza.
In the meantime, the hostage exchanges continue as Hamas released four bodies of Israeli captives, including the remains of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, brothers who were only nine months and four years old when kidnapped during the October 7 attack on southern Israel. Hamas has maintained that the children and their mother were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza in November 2023. Israel said it identified the remains of Kfir and Ariel after receiving their remains but claimed the third body was not their mother.
Hamas is expected to release six live Israeli hostages on Saturday, and Israel will free hundreds of Palestinians from Israeli jails, including many women and children who were captured in Gaza following October 7 despite having nothing to do with the attack.
Here come the false flags to take over the West Bank?
Israel bus explosions rock Tel Aviv area in suspected terror attack
https://nypost.com/2025/02/20/world-news/israel-bus-explosions-rock-tel-aviv-in-suspected-terror-attack/
They just happened to go off at the wrong time. /s
dread… you're getting good at this…!
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Trump has an illegal settlement named after him for his committed support to Israel's war crimes.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f356ddf4013cd8e85f1d5500d0adfb8eedbea0ad65e3874f38ec5b25e6d61e16.jpg
Perhaps Hamas should keep the hostages it has forever? I mean with how Israel talks about cleansing the zone everyday, with the US, if violence and coercion are the only things to keep the genocidal maniac in check, maybe they should keep them all, because who knows what the blood thirsty Israeli will do once Hamas has no leverage anymore?
"Perhaps Hamas should keep the hostages it has forever?" That would just lead to another 50,000 Palestinians dying. Not a good plan.
As if that isn't going to happen even if the hostages are released.
Maybe or may be not. Holding the hostages forever would insure a massive number of new deaths in Gaza. I think we both would agree on that. But by letting the hostages go free, there is a chance for some type of peace. You no doubt feel that the odds are low and they may be. The Palestinians should take that chance because keeping hostages would insure more destruction of Gaza. And with trump in charge, Israel might hit Gaza harder this time around. And make no mistake, Israel can hit Gaza even harder.
The exchange of hostages would be a good thing if Israel hadn't already made their intentions known.
Under Biden/Harris, the US allowed 70% of the buildings in Gaza to be destroyed. If Harris would have been elected, the status quo would have remained and eventually the other 30% of the buildings would also have been turned to rubble. It doesn't get "harder" than that. Trump wouldn't put any of the "limits" that the Biden/Harris put on Israel so Trump would allow a faster genocide. But the end result would be the same.
It's clear what Netanyahu is up to. However, Trump and the US have a big problem as well. The US wants to ethnically cleanse Gaza and destroy Hamas. The problem is it backed Israel to the Hilt and it couldn't accomplish those goals. Furthermore, it's Trump that demanded a ceasefire. There are no plans to deploy US troops. The parties are stuck. The Palestinians have been and are doing all they can, it's time for the rest of the world to weigh in and prevent the collapse of the ceasefire by pressuring Israel and the US to end the war and begin reconstruction of the Strip. What Israel couldn't accomplish on the battlefield it will not accomplish in the ceasefire talks.
It's always been clear what Netanyahu is up to.
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It's obvious… His mother picked him up by the ears.
Anywhere where religions and governments collide there is chaos or tyranny.
Not only Netanyahu but most Christians also take the the bible stories literally as being historically factual. And the religious passion of revenge adn bloodthirst can be seen in both Jews and Christians today.
Just finished a couple of articles on the Right where writers adn commenters are in full genocidal mood to eradicate all Palestinians. They all believe the fiction of the holy and good Jews having been attacked and slaughtered by barbarian monsters on oct 7th 2023.
You wouldn't know right from left or the uniparty.
America conservatives, America First people, oppose genocide.
That genocide went on at full speed while you leftist ran things.
Yes, I recall the Republicans, including Donald "finish the job" Trump, speaking out against the genocide. And that's sarcasm in case you didn't pick that up
"the rest of the world to weigh in " that is basic problem with the Palestinians. They start trouble, Oct 7 to be exact, and than they expect the "rest of the world" to come to their rescue. The Palestinians don't care that their homes were destroyed in fighting because they fully expect the world to come and rebuild them.
You'll note there are only two countries in which Trump didn't cut aid (or "aid"), Israel and… Egypt.
Why Egypt? A key to the continued genocide/ethnic cleansing is keeping Egypt's 107,000,000(!) people under the thumb of a "stable" military government, where they have no rights and no rights to real elections, a civil society, freedom from poverty or the ability to advocate to end the Gaza blockade and stop Israel from killing other Arabs.
The irony is that we know everything in the Torah/OT about an "Egyptian captivity" is a huge lie, a foundational myth for Judaism (therefore also Christianity, Islam, Mormons etc) to deny that the Hebrews were just some back country Canaanites with a regional war god that got out of hand. Israel's more honest archeologists have a gigantic empty room in the national museum making the point that there is no historical basis for any part of Exodus nor most anything that follows.
… EGYPTIANS in 2025, however, 1/10th of a billion of them, remain in "Israeli captivity" in real life, their own army's guns pointed inward at them to keep the lid on and the Gaza border closed, financed by dopey religious American taxpayers, leading short and brutal lives of degradation.
“I sat in Gaza with a bulletproof vest looking at the scenery, and I don’t know why anyone would want to live there today. It’s illogical to me,” Witkoff said.
Smart to have a bulletproof vest on with the IDF nearby. A steel pot helmet would be a good idea too.
Has he visited Auschwitz and wondered why anyone would have wanted to live THERE?
“The issue with [phase] two is that there’s supposed to be an end to the war, and the Israelis have a red line that Hamas cannot be in the government,” Witkoff said. “It’s hard to square that circle, but we’re making a lot of progress in that conversation, and hopefully it leads to good things and good results.”
There are billion$ upon billion$ of reasons why Witkoff can tell Israel their red lines mean absolutely nothing. But he won't.
Not to worry about anything. Trump will fix it all with his genius about "The art of the deal". Republicans and MAGA are celebrating all over and stating that Trump is so far ahead in wisdom and deal making that we don't understand or comprehend when he makes "silly statements".
Apparently according to them Trump has both Putin and Netanyahu figured out and he will triumph over both of them and then put his attention on Xi and China.
I don't know how much greater they can make Trump other than king, the best president ever that walked the earth, savior of America and the world, genius, godlike and so on. The next level is simply to declare him God.
On continuing the expecting pigs to fly sentiment here we have a "deal" saying Hamas exiled, Gaza demilitarized, IDF patrolling all of it demanded seriously for the ceasefire to keep going. But "we're making a lot of progress in that conversation."
Oh "blah blah blah orange man's fault blah blah blah".
All you have is the same old leftist propaganda. Your hero Crook Biden handled the situation so well didn't he???
Check this out folks, this propagandist ridicules efforts to make deals, as Trump is trying to do in the Middle East and Ukraine. Crook Biden never tried negotiations. The leftist is worried Trump may succeed.
Apparently you make up stuff. Go read more gossip.
Your childish resentment exudes.
So hey, what about the actual subject of this article??? We know, you have no comment there, just sour grapes against Trump.
And you once more assume whoever criticizes Trump must be a Biden supporter. I get it though. It's because the only way to make Trump look good is to compare him to Biden. Oh boy, we get ethnic cleansing instead of genocide. But you're good with that.
“I sat in Gaza with a bulletproof vest looking at the scenery, and I don’t know why anyone would want to live there today. It’s illogical to me,” Witkoff said.
This language indicates a flaw in the Witkoff ointment. As a human matter of loving and defending one's home (for centuries), logic has little to do with it. Real-estate people apparently can't think outside the dollar-related impact of their machinations.
Unethical, sleazy business people and politicians have no connection with communities anymore, the wealthy own villas, more than one and without any connection with the communities. They are rootless and can't understand the value to have a home and family roots, the security in a community where they were born and the parents are buried.
Loosing family and social ties in a close knit community is a big loss.
I may be wrong, but I do believe big close knit families holding and supporting each other and old neighbors helps them to endure and survive in Gaza and the WB.
I remember decades ago many people refused to leave their home during the eruption of Mount St Helen . For real-estate mogul such as Witkoff and his type avarice and hate are the motivation.
It's not merely about the land itself, but the fundamental principle that one must not submit to the oppression of another who harms not out of any rightful claim, but simply because they have the power to do so.
I am proud to say that Jerusalem is the city of my birth,
But as long as my people cannot live in Palestine what is it worth?
It’s worth everything dear, yet it’s not the land we revere.
It would be nothing without the cause to which we adhere.
@Schmizer:disqus@disqus_qhuce9v5DO:disqus@disqus_f6PBOsi4JJ:disqus@warsrus:disqus@renatelittlejohn:disqus@disqus_ky8vtfPjLn:disqus@disqus_zPMJ7rV4CH:disqus@robertscheetz:disqus@disqus_KAfPEpsMYs:disqus@existentialdread:disqus@disqus_jzsK7ljwo3:disqus@disqus_Ua0lwP5eay:disqus@disqus_lbkuZ0DrY6:disqus@disqus_QczQmccBvz:disqus@eurgenburg:disqus@krzysztfwdi:disqus
Beyond Witkoff's materialism here, the problem is the cause for the resistance—historically, whether in Palestine, Africa, wherever—is constantly simplified and demonized to “savages,” “brutes,” “terrorists,” etc. with the human torn out of it and leaving instead the pit of animal, bestial hatred. We need to think and reflect instead of succumbing to this level of primitive behavior.
Witkoff doesn’t know anything about Palestinians…! The rubbles are the soil of their homeland and too precious to them…!
Right, typical ZioNazi, he hasn't a clue re the value of history and the beauty of the spiritual bonds of historical community. Like Trump and the elite caste, human existence is one dimensional. Money is everything.
Witkoff does not understand basic human behavior. Gaza is where these people grew up and lived with the exception of Palestinians over 85 years old. Those few may remember living in what is now Israel as a child. Of course they want to stay in Gaza and rebuild. Just like the people living in LA area want to rebuild after the fire.
By embarking on this "genocide" Israel has made it clear that its us or them. The Palestinians as a whole will never leave. After forcing Israel into a ceasefire and while they still have the most valuable captives, why would they leave?
When is this jerk going to go away – permanently?
… And Hamas's demand: The remaining captives won't be released…!
Trup has not and will not support ethnic cleansing or genocide, yet you irresponsibly continue with this propaganda. This was Biden's problem, he let Israel do whatever they wanted.
uh huh
Wait a while…!
No, not ethnic cleansing. Just say you're moving them to beautiful homes, and they won't want to come back and magically it's NOT ethnic cleansing.
Nie kurwa
Pierdole, Netanyahu
Hamas leadership to be exiled? I thought he killed the leadership?
I am short people too!