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While the president-elect trump and President Biden are vying for credit for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, some Republicans are wary of the deal and whether it will hold.
“There is no part of me that trusts Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Fatah, or the grassroots people who voted for Hamas,” Rep. Brian Mast, R- Florida, nine of the House. The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee told Fox News Digital.
“There is no part of me that trusts them in any way. I trust that there is a fear of God in them for President Trump to come, Secretary Rubio and Stefanik, others, (and) what will not continue. programs like UNRWA,” he added, referring to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. “I trust there’s a chilling effect, you know, how they see the world moving forward. But there’s no part of me that trusts them in any way.”
Asked if he was celebrating the deal with some of his colleagues, Mast said, “I’m skeptical, like anything.”
“If it brings Americans home, I’m happy to bring Americans home,” Mast continued. “That’s been an issue for me that, you know, if there are Americans detained overseas, I would have every expectation that an American would come and get them. And, for me, unfortunately, this it wasn’t the result.”
The ceasefire is intended as a way to bring home the remaining hostages taken of Israel and provide a path to peace for the 2 million Palestinians living in a war zone since Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Trump vowed there would be “hell to pay” if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Hamas did not agree to a ceasefire by the time he took office. (AP/Sebastian Scheiner)
The deal has implications for the US: seven hostages who remain in the clutches of Hamas are Americans.
“Why is he a lame duck Joe Biden trying to make a bad deal with Israel on the way out the door?” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote to X. “The only ‘deal’ should be the unconditional surrender of Hamas, which is already all but destroyed … and the return of ALL the hostages. Instead, we hear reports that Biden is calling for Israel to withdraw from key Gaza ground, release dozens of hardened terrorists for each hostage, and return only SOME hostages?
Sources confirmed that Israelis told Fox News Digital that it was Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who traveled to Doha, Qatar and strong-armed the prime minister. Benjamin Netanyahu to sit down to finalize the deal that had eluded mediation by the Biden administration for most of the past year.
The first ceasefire in November 2023 lasted only a week, with both sides accusing the other of breaking it. In that time, 105 hostages were released, as well as 240 Palestinian prisoners.
ISRAEL’S NETANYAHU DELAYS GAZA CEASE-FIRE VOTE, ACCUSES HAMAS OF TRYING TO BACK OUT OF DEAL
Trump had promised there would be “hell to pay” if a ceasefire was not reached by the time he took office, which will be on January 20. His surrogates developed close relationships with Arab leaders from swing states like Michigan throughout the campaign. , promising that Trump would bring peace to the Middle East.
Senator Tom Cotton called the ceasefire a “bad deal”. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)
Secretary of State Brian Mast, R-Florida, said he does not trust Hamas or the Palestinians to uphold the deal. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images/File)
ACCESS TO THE ISRAEL-HAMAS ELFOC, HOSTAGE RELEASE AGREEMENT: “AMERICANS WILL BE PART OF THIS”
The deal, brokered by Qatari negotiators with mediation help from both the outgoing Biden and Witkoff administrations, is set out in three phases. It will see three hostages released on the first day, Sunday, with new hostages released each week. This phase will involve the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphia corridor on the Egyptian border and from the so-called buffer zone in the Gaza territory bordering Israel.
Priority will initially be given to women, children and men over 50. During the first 42-day phase, 33 of the remaining Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
This group is likely to include some who have been convicted of murder. Thursday, Netanyahu delayed ratification of the agreement over disagreements over whether he would get a veto over which inmates convicted of murder would be released. Israel’s cabinet will now meet on Friday to ratify the deal.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could only have come about as a result of our historic victory in November, as it signaled to the world that my administration would seek peace and negotiate agreements to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies,” Trump wrote. in social networks.
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Biden said from the White House that “my diplomacy never ceased in his efforts to achieve this.”
He added: “This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration.”
