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No More Ceasefires
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make statements to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, after their meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 12, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
JNS.org – At the moment, 26 out of the 27 E.U. member states support an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas without requiring Hamas to unconditionally release all its hostages and surrender. At the same time, Hamas is demanding that Israel release 5,000 terrorists in exchange for the remaining hostages and exit Gaza, which would leave Hamas with a significant terrorist force intact.
The sheer arrogance of such demands appears irrational, given the crushing military defeat Hamas is suffering and its likely destruction once Israel fully enters Rafah. But Hamas and its allies’ propaganda war has given the terrorists hope, as they see support for Israel’s war waning somewhat, even in the United States.
The previous “humanitarian pause” in the fighting, which began on Nov. 24, 2023, is instructive. The pause was brief because, after receiving wildly disproportionate releases of terrorist prisoners, Hamas simply broke the truce and resumed its attacks. It also reneged on its agreement to provide the Red Cross access to the remaining hostages and to deliver medication to them. Israel now reports that numerous hostages have died in captivity and many of those released show signs of starvation, torture and sexual abuse.
Immediately following Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke of Hamas as sheer and unadulterated evil. He said the U.S. fully supports Israel’s war to eradicate Hamas. He committed to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, but said, “Let me be clear, if Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people and it will end.”
Biden did not follow through on this pledge. Reports indicate that the majority of humanitarian aid to Gaza has been stolen by Hamas. Instead of halting the aid, the Biden administration has been admonishing Israel to provide even more.
Hamas’s strategy is no secret: It is trying to maximize civilian casualties in a stunningly evil attempt effort to bring international pressure on Israel in order to force a ceasefire and save itself. As patently obvious as this is, Hamas and its cohorts have marshalled pro-terrorist allies at the U.N., as well as in Europe and the U.S. who are pushing it with everything they have.
Many world leaders, including some who backed Israel initially, now support an immediate unconditional ceasefire. As Hamas leaders have demonstrated in word and deed, such capitulation will only result in more stolen aid, more terrorism, more war and more death.
With Israel poised to conquer Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, now is the time for the international community to put an end to its culture of surrender. Instead, it should redouble its support for Israel. Moreover, this would not only be support for Israel. Veteran U.S. diplomat Dennis Ross and Executive Vice President Emeritus of the Conference of Presidents Malcolm Hoenlein have said that Arab leaders tell them not to listen to what they say publicly. They too support destroying Hamas.
Biden is also mistaken in his attempt to curry favor with antisemitic Hamas supporters in Michigan by criticizing Israel. Polls show that the overwhelming majority of both Michigan voters and Americans in general support Israel in this war.
But the White House’s mixed messages do not go unnoticed. Hamas, its allies and its Western fifth column are watching. This is the only explanation for its delusional demand that Israel release thousands of murderers—many with American blood on their hands—and unconditionally end the war. If Hamas really cared about Gaza’s civilians, it could end their suffering today by immediate and unconditional surrender.
The Biden administration’s hints that it may recognize a Palestinian state are equally disastrous. It would violate the Oslo Accords and long-standing U.S. policy, which hold that this is an issue for negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians. Recognition will only reward Hamas for its crimes; not to mention the U.S.-supported Palestinian Authority’s crimes. It is a time to hold both of them accountable. Thankfully, the Israeli government has resoundingly rejected recognition. The war cabinet’s rejection was unanimous, crossing partisan and ideological lines. It is encouraging that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew has reassured Israel that the U.S. has no plans to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
The U.S. should send a powerful message to Hamas and the P.A. that terrorism will no longer be tolerated. The U.S. veto of an Algeria-proposed U.N. resolution calling for a ceasefire was a good start, but more is needed. All aid that goes directly or indirectly to Hamas, including UNRWA funding, must be ended until all the hostages are released and Hamas surrenders. The Biden administration should also denounce P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas’s plan to reward Oct. 7 terrorists with “pay-to-slay” pensions and suspend all direct or indirect funding to the P.A. until “pay-to-slay” is ended.
Most importantly, the U.S. must unequivocally support Israel’s plan to enter Rafah in force, thus destroying Hamas and ending the war. No more ceasefires.
The post No More Ceasefires first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran and the United States have agreed to continue nuclear talks next week, both sides said on Saturday, though Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi voiced “extreme cautious” about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff.
US President Donald Trump has signaled confidence in clinching a new pact with the Islamic Republic that would block Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a third round of the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators for around six hours, a week after a second round in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
“The negotiations are extremely serious and technical… there are still differences, both on major issues and on details,” Araqchi told Iranian state TV.
“There is seriousness and determination on both sides… However, our optimism about success of the talks remains extremely cautious.”
A senior US administration official described the talks as positive and productive, adding that both sides agreed to meet again in Europe “soon.”
“There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the official added.
Earlier Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi had said talks would continue next week, with another “high-level meeting” provisionally scheduled for May 3. Araqchi said Oman would announce the venue.
Ahead of the lead negotiators’ meeting, expert-level indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.
“The presence of experts was beneficial … we will return to our capitals for further reviews to see how disagreements can be reduced,” Araqchi said.
An Iranian official, briefed about the talks, told Reuters earlier that the expert-level negotiations were “difficult, complicated and serious.”
The only aim of these talks, Araqchi said, was “to build confidence about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.”
Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” but he repeated a threat of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Shortly after Araqchi and Witkoff began their latest indirect talks on Saturday, Iranian state media reported a massive explosion at the country’s Shahid Rajaee port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.
MAXIMUM PRESSURE
While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Since 2019, Iran has breached the pact’s nuclear curbs including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
Moreover, European states have suggested to US negotiators that a comprehensive deal should include limits preventing Iran from acquiring or finalizing the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, several European diplomats said.
Tehran insists its defense capabilities like its missile program are not negotiable.
An Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday that Tehran sees its missile program as a bigger obstacle in the talks.
The post Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organization said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.
Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.
He was named PLO vice president after the organization’s executive committee approved his nomination by Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.
Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the West Bank, has been a priority for the United States and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.
The United States has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.
CALL FOR HAMAS TO DISARM
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas, which follows a militant Islamist ideology, has controlled Gaza since 2007 when it defeated the PA in a brief civil war after winning an election the previous year. It also has a large presence in the West Bank.
At a meeting of the PLO’s Central Council on Wednesday and Thursday that approved the position of vice president without naming an appointee, Abbas made his clearest ever call for Hamas to completely disarm and hand its weapons – and responsibility for governing in Gaza – to the PA.
Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent state and increasing Israeli military incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.
The body has been controlled by Fatah since it was formed in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and it last held parliamentary elections in 2005.
Sheikh, who was imprisoned by Israel for his activities opposing the occupation during the period 1978-89, has worked as the PA’s main contact liaising with the Israeli government under Abbas and been his envoy on visits to world powers.
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
The post 3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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