LATEST UPDATE: White House says Israel has accepted
a new US proposal for a temporary ceasefire
There have been recent public signals of a possible weakening of Trump’s relationship with Israel. But the U.S. President has introduced a plan to stop the war with Hamas – at least temporarily – that looks like something Israel can live with. That's according to Joel Rosenberg, Middle East analyst and publisher, who was interviewed on American Family Radio Thursday.
A 60-day ceasefire – not like the permanent one sought by Joe Biden – would provide a window for more extensive negotiations, the administration believes.
Earlier this month Trump did not visit Israel during his Middle East tour at which time he lifted sanctions against Syria and met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. “Israel, we’ve been talking to them, and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey Sunday shortly before boarding Air Force One.
The New York Times viewed this as further isolation for Israel from some of its closest allies.
Israel and Hamas remain deeply divided on key issues, and Israel has publicly ruled out any agreement that includes a full withdrawal from Gaza or a transfer of power to what would be, in theory, a politically independent committee of Palestinians, as proposed by Hamas.
Highlights of the U.S. proposal include:
· Sixty days during which both sides would commit to serious negotiations.
· Ten living hostages and an unspecified number of bodies released by Hamas.
· Israeli withdrawal of forces from Gaza back to positions they held during the previous ceasefire which ended in March.
· Israel would release an estimated 1,100 jailed Palestinians including 100 serving long sentences for deadly attacks.
· Assurances that Israel will not resume hostilities after the release of hostages as it did in March.
| All Israel News reports today that the Al Arabiya network says Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement on a 60-day ceasefire – and Trump is expected to announce that soon. The report, however, has not been confirmed by other sources, says All Israel News. |
Rosenberg told AFR show host Jenna Ellis he finds the proposal encouraging. “At the end of the 60 days, Israel would not be required to accept a permanent ceasefire, which is what Biden had pressed for, which is what Hamas is demanding,” he explained.
The news comes a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin announced the death of Mohammed Sinwar, Hamas’ chief of operations in Gaza, who was killed in an air strike. He’s the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that set off the war. Yayha Sinwar was killed in October 2024.
Israel has killed dozens of leaders from Hamas – and also Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terror group – in the last year and a half. But the war continues.
Allies don’t always agree
Hamas, said Rosenberg, is in trouble – "and they're crying uncle, but Israel is not giving in. God bless President Trump and [Middle East envoy] Steve Whitkoff for not going the Biden route. It’s just encouraging to see them standing with Israel, trying to help get as many hostages out as possible without requiring Israel to surrender to this terrorist organization.
“It’s amazing how many people in Congress and around the world want Israel to surrender to terrorists,” Rosenberg added.
Israel needs the U.S., the publisher of All Israel News said. “President Trump doesn’t have to agree with Israel all the time, but when we’re dealing in a hot war with a terrorist organization, you want someone at your side who isn’t inadvertently giving encouragement to the enemy … that the world’s only superpower will put more pressure on the democratic free society than the terrorist organization.
“That’s what Biden had been doing. That’s what a lot of Democrats in Washington have been doing,” Rosenberg said.
In the complex inner workings of the Middle East there are always multiple layers to consider and almost always an Iran connection. If Israel can find encouragement in Trump’s proposal to end the Hamas war, it seems less at ease with Trump’s negotiations with Iran.
“There is daylight between Israel and the United States” regarding how best to deal with Iran in its ongoing quest for nuclear weapons, Rosenberg said.
“Admittedly, President Trump is making many Israelis nervous right now because he's trying to negotiate a deal with Iran, and we haven't seen the terms.”
Netanyahu has threatened to upend the talks with air strikes against nuclear targets within Iran, The New York Times reported Wednesday. Israel has planned strikes for some time this month but held off at Trump’s insistence.
The Iran question has led to at least one tense phone call between Trump and Netanyahu as well as top-level officials in various meetings, The Times reported.
The Israelis are not directly involved in the process, and that has them on edge, Rosenberg said.
Negotiating in the dark
There are concerns that a Trump deal could allow Iran to continue its uranium enrichment process, which would inevitably lead to nuclear weapons; or that a lifting of sanctions against Iran would make it flush with cash again.
“It doesn't seem like that's something Trump would do, but he's negotiating in the dark – so we're in the dark,” Rosenberg said.
There are also concerns that some provisions in an agreement could prevent Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities down the road.
“Trump and Israel are standing shoulder-to-shoulder on the Hamas matter and on the hostages. [But] there is daylight – and anxiety, honestly – between Trump and Netanyahu on Iran,” Rosenberg concluded.
