Peace?
Late yesterday came word Hamas was ready to release all the remaining Israeli hostages and bodies of those killed but not released. In exchange, Israel will release a massive number of Hamas members and Gaza residents arrested by Israel.
Israel decided it was worth it to get the return of their (and our) citizens.
Israel will withdraw from Gaza. The war will end, at least now.
War is always temporary with Hamas. Western allies just stopped an Iranian attempt to smuggle weapons into the West Bank.
What comes next will determine the future of the Middle East and how long peace lasts. Last night, as President Trump announced the deal, he was on the phone with his Middle East envoys and with Marco Rubio beside him as he crafted his note to the nation.
President Trump deserves tremendous credit for this.
There will be a lot of people who refuse to give him credit. But he deserves credit. People should, I think, be willing to pause their hatred of the man for a small moment to note his force of will helped get this across the finish line and get American citizens released from captivity.
I suspect Democrats will do their best to avoid giving the President credit. I noticed last night how silent Ilhan Omar, AOC, the squad, etc. were. The war is at an end. The residents of Gaza will see Israel go home. The Israelis will see their hostages returned.
We have what resembles peace. How long it will last no one can say. But today, we should be willing to say thank you to President Trump for pushing hard to make this happen.
I’ll bring you guys the latest at noon eastern on my radio show.
By the way, on a separate note, Axios is now reporting Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a retiring Democrat, is participating in the shutdown negotiations to get a deal. I’d note that if you are a paid subscriber to this email, you knew that more than 24 hours before Axios’s “breaking news scoop.”
I’m going to take an “I’ll believe it when I see it approach.” However, my moderate wife who generally votes Democrat and can’t stand Trump sent me a message last night that said if this holds, Trump will most likely win the Nobel peace prize. She has started to change her tune on a few other things, as well, especially regarding the government shutdown and how furloughed workers (of which she is one) may not get back pay. She says the media is not reporting the truth of it and that it’s a very small number that might not get back pay when the shutdown ends. She has also started to listen to Erick’s show when she’s in the car during the show hours, which I still can’t believe. 😂
I certainly give him credit for putting in every effort to end the war. Being from Missouri, the "show me" state, I will believe the hostages will be freed when they are actually in the hands of Israel. Hamas can be trusted no further than we could throw the whole bunch. And if any agreement doesn't remove Hamas from the Gaza strip completely, it is only a temporary "peace". So I pray the hostages are actually returned.