In a surprising diplomatic shift, the U.S. reportedly engaged in direct talks with Hamas, sidelining traditional coordination with Israel 🇮🇱. This move signals a potential strategy change in Middle East peace efforts 🕊️. What does this mean for regional stability, and how will Israel respond? ⚖️🌍
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#MiddleEast #Hamas #USForeignPolicy #Israel #Gaza #Diplomacy #PeaceTalks #Washington #Geopolitics #USIsraelRelations #HamasTalks #ConflictResolution #GlobalPolitics #BidenAdministration #MiddleEastPeace #DirectNegotiations #Palestine #IsraelNews #ForeignAffairs #MiddleEastUpdate
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NewsTranscript
00:00Okay, more news to tell you about today. The last living American hostage held in Gaza has returned home.
00:08Adan Alexander was released by Hamas as part of a goodwill gesture following direct talks between U.S. officials and the militant group.
00:46As for Trump's recent hostage deal with Hamas, Tel Aviv didn't even have a clue until after it happened.
00:55Steve Witkoff apparently found Israel's unwillingness to end its war on Gaza as a roadblock to any negotiations that would have had Washington's little brother at the table.
01:05So the Americans went behind the Israelis' backs, and both Trump and the Arab world seemingly happy to see progress being made.
01:13I am happy to announce that Adan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family.
01:24This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators, Qatar and Egypt,
01:31to put an end to this very brutal war and return all living hostages and remains to their loved ones.
01:36The state of Qatar and the Arab Republic of Egypt welcomed the announcement by Hamas of its agreement to release American hostage Eden Alexander.
01:45They regard this as a gesture of goodwill and a positive step toward resuming negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
01:53Long-time buddies Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are reportedly falling out.
01:58Everything from Iran talks to hostage negotiations seems to be exposing some deep cracks in the two leaders' long-time bromance.
02:07The relationship between Trump and Netanyahu has become strained as the two leaders are increasingly at odds over a strategy for tackling these challenges
02:15now that Hamas has been significantly degraded and Iran weakened, according to two U.S. officials, two Middle Eastern diplomats, and two other people with knowledge of the tensions.
02:26Based on Washington's recent actions, it definitely looks to be giving Tel Aviv the cold shoulder.
02:31Right before Pete Hegseth was supposed to make his first official visit to Israel, Trump had him hop aboard Air Force One to join his own trip to the Middle East instead.
02:40And Israel's not even on Trump's itinerary. A pretty big diss, considering the Israelis had planned for Hegseth to meet with their defense minister, and even with Netanyahu himself.
02:52That's not to mention Trump's recent ceasefire with Yemen's Ansar Allah, which completely excludes Israel.
02:58There is an agreement between Yemen and the United States that means halting all the hostilities between the two countries in accordance with this agreement.
03:07But it does not concern Israel.
03:10We can't forget about Saudi Arabia and its quest for a civil nuclear program.
03:15The U.S. under Joe Biden didn't want to give Riyadh its approval without the Saudis normalizing relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.
03:23Now the Trump administration scrapped that demand, and there are even media reports that Trump might recognize Palestinian statehood,
03:30something that nobody would have even considered several days ago.
03:34At the same time, renewed talks on Iran's nuclear program in Amman have been productive,
03:39with Iran's foreign minister saying that he and the U.S. are finally beginning to understand each other.
03:45There's a better understanding now.
03:49I can say that the positions have gotten somewhat closer, and overall I believe the talks can be assessed as moving forward.
03:56We've decided that the negotiations will continue.
04:00Both sides are determined, and there's an agreement for the next meeting,
04:03though the date and location still need to be set based on both parties' schedules, which is a tough thing to do.
04:09We've left that task to the Omani foreign minister to coordinate,
04:13but I think it will probably be held in about a week, give or take.
04:16Washington and Tehran getting along, solving the Middle East's problems using diplomacy?
04:21Oh, no. This is something that Netanyahu just cannot wrap his head around.
04:26Once they have the weapons of delivery, ballistic missiles, ICBMs, intercontinental ballistic missiles,
04:32they will threaten every city in the United States.
04:35That is a palpable danger to Israel and to the free world, and it must be prevented.
04:42The way to prevent it is to dismantle all the infrastructure of Iran's nuclear program.
04:48That is a deal we could live with.
04:51Equally, I think we should bring in the ballistic missiles,
04:55the prevention of the development of ballistic missiles into the deal.
05:00I think these are the two requirements.
05:03I said to President Trump that I hope that this is what the negotiators will do
05:09when close contact with the United States.
05:11But I said one way or the other, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.
05:19And on top of all these disagreements, all these divergences in foreign policy interests,
05:24both the U.S. and Israel are saying that everything's as right as rain between them.
05:29There is no rift between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
05:33There are those in both the U.S. and Israel who would like to see such a rift,
05:37and they are feeding false accounts to the media to achieve just that.
05:41But it's all fake.
05:42His first trip is about economic opportunity.
05:45That's where his focus is.
05:47What he's doing is not because he's snubbing Israel.
05:50So I would just say to people, relax, calm down.
05:53Donald Trump loves you.
05:55There's no doubt about that.
05:56He's got your back, and he is the same Donald Trump that four years as president
06:03did more for Israel than any other American president.
06:07Deny, deny, deny.
06:08They could say what they want, but actions speak louder than words.
06:11So loud that Netanyahu is reportedly even wanting to wean his country
06:16off the billions of dollars he gets from the U.S. for weapons every year.
06:21It looks pretty clear that there's trouble in paradise.