--- title: "Netanyahu ‘if we must return to fighting, we will do that’, citing support from Biden & Trump" type: "post" post_id: "8557" slug: "netanyahu-if-we-must-return-to-fighting-we-will-do-that-citing-support-from-biden-trump" canonical: "https://pennyforyourthoughts2.ca/2025/01/18/netanyahu-if-we-must-return-to-fighting-we-will-do-that-citing-support-from-biden-trump/" markdown_url: "https://pennyforyourthoughts2.ca/2025/01/18/netanyahu-if-we-must-return-to-fighting-we-will-do-that-citing-support-from-biden-trump.md" json_url: "https://pennyforyourthoughts2.ca/2025/01/18/netanyahu-if-we-must-return-to-fighting-we-will-do-that-citing-support-from-biden-trump.json" txt_url: "https://pennyforyourthoughts2.ca/2025/01/18/netanyahu-if-we-must-return-to-fighting-we-will-do-that-citing-support-from-biden-trump.txt" published: "2025-01-18T23:26:13+00:00" modified: "2025-01-18T23:26:13+00:00" author: "penny2" categories: - "Uncategorized" tags: - "Israel" - "Palestine" - "perception management" - "Qatar" - "state sponsored terrorism" - "US" site_name: "PFYT2" publisher: "" language: "en-US" generator: "easyPress Markdown" generator_version: "1.0.6" --- **I’m seeing this whole ceasefire as a ploy. That’s it. That’s all. Israel is “keeping the peace” so a relatively smooth transition can be made from the Biden to the Trump administration**. **It’s not credible to me that Israel would give up on it’s expansionist goals.** **Call me pessimistic, while keeping in mind I do hope to be wrong.** [**Pay attention to what Netanyahu is saying..**](https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/jan/18/middle-east-crisis-live-israel-says-737-prisoners-to-initially-be-freed-after-cabinet-approves-gaza-ceasefire) > **Benjamin Netanyahu said that` the first stage of the ceasefire deal was temporary,` adding: “If we must return to fighting, we will do that in new, forceful ways.”** > Netanyahu, who also said that **`Israel’s “campaign is not over yet”`**, added that **`both Donald Trump and Joe Biden back Israel’s “right to resume fighting if the second stage is fruitless”.`** > > The Israeli prime minister’s comments on Saturday evening come as a ceasefire deal between Israel and [Hamas](https://www.theguardian.com/world/hamas) is set to take place on Sunday at 6.30 GMT. > > As part of the deal, 33 of the 98 remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas are expected to be freed in this phase, according to Reuters. In exchange, Israel will release approximately 2,000 Palestinians currently detained across multiple prisons. **We’re supposed to believe Trump’s pick for Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was pivotal in making this happen** > *T**rump had demanded a deal to release Israel’s hostages before he took his oath of office, and the man charged with making that happen was Steve Witkoff – a New York property developer confident that a long relationship with Trump could offset a lack of diplomatic experience*** > ***Witkoff, who is Jewish, made clear that would not be happening. Trump was in a hurry – and he wanted to get on with the mission.*** [Who are Mike Huckabee and Steve Witkoff](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/world/middleeast/huckabee-israel-witkoff-middle-east-us.html) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Huckabee is a dangerous crackpot, in my opinion.** **Steven Witkoff** > Steven Witkoff, who was named on Tuesday as the incoming administration’s Middle East envoy, raised a vast amount of money for Mr. Trump’s campaign — including from Jewish voters > When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel addressed Congress in July, Mr. Witkoff was in the audience. **When Biden claimed to stop the flow of US weapons to Israel, if they entered Rafah, but didn’t, [Trump’s Pro Israel fundraising accelerated](https://www.thebulwark.com/p/october-7-turning-point-trump-fundraising)** > “Every one of my friends started calling and asking, **‘What can I do for Donald Trump?’”** `Witkoff, a pro-Israel donor and fundraiser `for Trump’s presidential campaign, told *The Bulwark*. > **Witkoff and the Trump campaign had been waiting for these calls ever since October 7** > ***“It was a notable shift,” Witkoff said. “I personally received and helped secure large Jewish donors over the last two weeks . . . and I’m not talking four-figure donations. I’m talking six-figure and seven-figure donations.”*** **I’m not a believer in the authenticity of this agreement or the bona fides of the US envoy, Israel will renege in very short order**