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Donald Trump has run out of patience with Hamas, and rightly so. They are trying to renege on the current criteria of the ceasefire agreement, and Trump knows they are playing games:
Hamas said late Monday that it was indefinitely postponing the next hostage-prisoner swap Saturday, accusing Israel of continuing to shoot at Palestinians, stopping them from moving back to the northern part of the strip, and delaying the entry of medical supplies and shelters.
I don’t know if Trump is serious or is calling their bluff, but this is what he said:
'If all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 o’clock — I think it’s an appropriate time — I would say cancel the ceasefire,' he told reporters, without specifying whether he meant noon or midnight.
Trump threatened that "all hell is going to break out" if Hamas delays hostage releases.
When asked for specifics about what he meant by 'hell,' the president said that ‘Hamas will find out what I mean’ when asked for specifics.
At this writing, it’s unclear whether Netanyahu is fully on board with this threat.
It’s no surprise that the families of the hostages are determined to keep the ceasefire agreement in place:
‘President Trump, I am asking you with all my heart: Do everything in your power to ensure that this deal continues!’ said Idit Ohel, the mother of Alon Ohel, who was abducted from Israel’s Nova music festival Oct. 7, 2023.
In addition, there has been an international challenge to the idea of removing Palestinians from Gaza. In his first proposal, Trump suggested that Palestinians could return to Gaza after it has been rebuilt, but now he is claiming that they will not be allowed to return.
To complicate the situation even more, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia refuse to take in the dislocated Palestinians, based on their previous experiences with this group.
So, what do you think will happen this weekend? Will Hamas try to go back to the original agreement of releasing three hostages, which Trump says is no longer valid? Will they kill the remaining hostages without telling those waiting to see their loved ones? Will they actually agree to release everyone, as Trump has demanded?
Discussion (94)
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Thanks, Brian!
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As Saturday draws near let's see if Hamas backs down. Probably best not to test this President. Unlike his cognitively-challenged, paper tiger predecessor who simply said "Don't" because actually articulating consequences of non-compliance were either too difficult for him to utter (he did seem to be constantly challenged with multi-syllabic words or the sudden urge to shuffle quickly to the bathroom) - President Trump is likely to follow-through on his threat.
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I assume that Trump and Netanyahu are working hand-and-glove on this. I also assume they have intelligence that there are few/no hostages still alive and it is time to renegotiate. As Darth Vader said, "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further!"
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At some point, Trump has to execute the threatened action or future threats will be ineffective.
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