Trump envoy says US expects truce phase one extension
Steve Witkoff made the comment in a CNN interview when asked about Israel’s decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
“We have to get an extension of phase one,” Witkoff said. “I’ll be going to the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that.”
Israel reneged on its promise to release more than 600 Palestinian prisoners yesterday, as per the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, citing dissatisfaction with the way that Israeli captives were being released by Hamas.
‘Number one enemy’: Bannon slams American Jews that do not support Israel
In a video shared on social media, Steve Bannon has described Jewish Americans who have protested against Israel’s war on Gaza as the “biggest single enemy to the Jewish people”.
“The number one enemy to the people in Israel are American Jews that do not support Israel and do not support MAGA,” Bannon said, referring to the “Make America Great Again” movement of Trump supporters.
“MAGA and the evangelical Christians and the traditional Catholics in this country have Israel’s back,” Bannon said in the comments that appeared to be recorded at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Bannon’s comments come after the former Trump adviser sparked criticism for appearing to make a Nazi salute during an appearance at CPAC on Thursday.
Steve Bannon’s long and disturbing history of stoking antisemitism and hate, threatening violence, and empowering extremists is well known and well documented by ADL and others.
We are not surprised, but are concerned about the normalization of this behavior.… pic.twitter.com/EA5qBVqkvL
— ADL (@ADL) February 21, 2025
Israel has achieved ‘nothing but death and destruction’
Omar Baddar, a Middle East political analyst, says that Israeli authorities are trying to deliver an “image” of achievement but that “frankly, they have nothing to show”.
“The entire campaign of death and destruction in Gaza has achieved nothing but death and destruction for its own sake,” he told Al Jazeera.
Baddar added that recent statements by Trump on “the possibility of expelling all Palestinians out of Gaza” reflect “the fantasy of the extreme right in Israel”.
“I think this is just giving Netanyahu his wish list to finally be able to openly advocate for that position that he’s always had,” Baddar said. “Of course, anybody with a set of eyes and a functioning brain understood that what Israel was waging in Gaza is a war on the entire Palestinian population.
“We are moving in a very, very dark direction, and I think that the United States bears significant responsibility because of Trump’s statements and, frankly, US policy, even before that of a blank check for Israel,” he said.
