The Israeli right may soon be disenchanted with Trump

 https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/the-israeli-right-may-soon-be-disenchanted-with-trump/

The result, in the hostage case, is an underappreciated diplomatic paradox: Thanks largely to Trump, a deal demanded by the Israeli left and reviled by the right is about to come into effect. A year’s worth of diplomacy by the Biden administration is finally about to bear fruit because of its political nemesis. The far-right parties that are part of Netanyahu’s coalition may bolt the government. And Netanyahu is far more prepared to bend the knee to Washington than he was when there were Democrats in the White House.

A more difficult quandary for the Israeli right is what else Trump may want them to accept. The president-elect clearly wants an Israeli-Saudi normalization agreement as a capstone to the Abraham Accords he oversaw in 2020. For that to happen, the Saudis will demand a road map for a Palestinian state. Trump may also prefer to use Iran’s current weakness to negotiate a second nuclear deal, when what Netanyahu most wants is American help in an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, possibly in the next weeks or months.

Trump and Israelis may regret the hostage deal he wanted … and got

https://www.israeltoday.co.il/read/trump-and-israelis-may-regret-the-hostage-deal-he-wantedand-got/

While we should all rejoice in their release, no one—least of all Trump, and his foreign and security policy team—should be naive about the consequences of the price Israel is paying to supposedly give him the inauguration optics that he wants.

But by starting his second term with a deal that is a gift to Hamas and Iran, he will be setting himself up for new problems because of an unforced error that Americans and Israelis may have to pay for in blood.

Ben-Gvir: If Gaza ceasefire is implemented, Otzma Yehudit will leave gov't

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-837910

"The deal that is taking shape is a reckless deal," Ben-Gvir said in a televised statement, saying it would "erase the achievements of the war" by releasing hundreds of Palestinian militants and withdrawing from strategic areas in Gaza, leaving Hamas undefeated.

Israeli cabinet to vote Friday on ceasefire, hostage release deal with Hamas

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/01/16/israel-war-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-news-hamas/

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed by Israel’s negotiation team that agreements have been reached on a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas, his office said in a statement early Friday local time. Families of the hostages held by the militant group were also briefed on the agreements.

Ben Shapiro’s Book Is a Glib Rationale for Right-Wing Authoritarianism

 https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/08/ben-shapiro-new-book-authoritarian-moment-left-trump.html

The bulk of Shapiro’s argument that left authoritarianism is more dangerous than right authoritarianism is done by simply ignoring the latter category altogether. Shapiro has published rationales for Trump’s abuses of power before, but they are largely absent here. The formula is to argue x > y, then proceed to focus entirely on x.

Israel and Hamas sign hostage-ceasefire deal after mediators iron out final kinks

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-january-17-2025/

Netanyahu’s office confirms agreement finalized but says government won’t meet to approve it until Saturday, which will delay the return of the first hostages from Sunday to Monday

MAGA Cashiers a Check on Tulsi Gabbard as DNI

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/mike-turner-ousted-house-intelligence-committee-mike-johnson-donald-trump-house-gop-1363d4ef

U.S. intelligence oversight took a turn for the worse Wednesday with the news that House Speaker Mike Johnson fired Ohio Rep. Mike Turner as chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Worse, the Speaker seems to have done it at the request of President Trump or his inner circle.

Netanyahu Postpones Gaza Ceasefire Deal Over Hamas 'Last Minute Crisis'

 https://www.newsweek.com/netanyahu-postpones-gaza-ceasefire-deal-hamas-crisis-2015854

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced Thursday that his Cabinet will not convene to approve the Gaza ceasefire agreement due to what it described as a "last-minute crisis" caused by Hamas.

The statement accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement in a bid "to extort last-minute concessions."

Biden and Trump Battle Over Credit for Middle East Deal

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/biden-anger-after-trump-snatches-credit-for-middle-east-deal/

Without mentioning Biden, Trump praised his “national security team” for getting the deal over the line.

“We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!” wrote Trump on Truth Social.

David Friedman, U.S. Ambassador to Israel under Trump’s first administration, offered his “enduring thanks” on Fox News to his “old friend President Trump for getting this done.”

How Trump Scared Netanyahu Into Accepting a Cease-fire Deal With Hamas

 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-01-16/ty-article/.premium/how-trump-scared-netanyahu-into-accepting-a-cease-fire-deal-with-hamas/00000194-6bd9-d876-affe-7ffb0c1d0000

Cynical, unwilling, fearful: Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejected this same hostage deal when the Biden administration proposed it months ago, has now been bulldozed into wide-ranging concessions. For the hostages, and for Israel, this is the only morally correct end to an unbearable saga

Hamas leader touts ceasefire as a defeat for Israel while hailing Oct. 7 atrocities

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-leader-touts-ceasefire-as-a-defeat-for-israel-while-hailing-oct-7-atrocities/

Khalil al-Hayya praises deadliest massacre of Jews since Holocaust as ‘a source of pride for our people’; Islamic Jihad calls deal ‘an honorable agreement to stop the aggression’

Israel's Far Right Now Realizes Trump Isn't the Savior They Imagined

 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-01-15/ty-article/.premium/israels-far-right-now-realizes-trump-isnt-the-savior-they-imagined/00000194-69d9-d545-a39e-edd95ddb0000

President-elect Donald Trump's decision to push hard towards a Gaza cease-fire/hostage deal has triggered turmoil in Israel's far-right Religious Zionism party, with its leader Betzalel Smotrich stuck between his party's extremism, Netanyahu's tyranny and Trump's transactionalism

Why is Trump pushing Israel toward a bad deal?

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/01/15/why-is-trump-pushing-israel-toward-a-bad-deal/

This scenario is comparable to the United States allowing Guantanamo detainees to disperse along its borders with Canada and Mexico a year after 9/11, or permitting them to join Taliban forces against US troops in Afghanistan – a notion that defies strategic logic.

Choice is between "bad and very bad," Israeli foreign minister says of ceasefire deal

 https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-hostages-01-15-24/index.html

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has characterized the ceasefire-for-hostages deal as a painful choice “between bad and very bad” – without saying explicitly whether he will vote for it or not.

“I’ll speak honestly – this is a difficult decision when it involves releasing so many terrorists, including those who have murdered Jews,” Sa’ar said during a speech at a synagogue in Rome on Wednesday.