The past few days have been filled with images and video of the jubilation over the return of Israeli hostages in the wake of President Trump brokering the first phase of a peace deal between Hamas and the Jewish state.
One of the more stirring videos shown around the world after the breaking news of the truce was Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaking in Tel Aviv, flanked by the president's son-in-law and fellow negotiation team member, Jared Kushner, and first daughter, Ivanka Trump, as my colleague Nick Arama wrote.
SEE: Trump Cheered in Israel, As Liberal Media Makes Stunning Statements Praising Him and Chiding Obama
Breakthrough: Trump, Middle Eastern Leaders Sign Historic Peace Deal
Notice in the video above that interspersed in the chants by the massive crowd in Hostage Square thanking the president were, rightfully, some voices shouting out Witkoff for his big role in peacemaking. That's what makes Tuesday's move by legacy media all the more egregious; a publication called Middle East Eye is alleging that Witkoff, despite assurances to the contrary, is "stepping back" from his position in the Trump administration and retuning to the private sector.
It's according to two anonymous sources who claim they are "familiar with the matter." (emphasis added)
US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to step back from the Trump administration to refocus on his business after serving as a key negotiator who sealed the Gaza ceasefire, two sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye.
Both sources, who requested anonymity to reveal private discussions, said Witkoff planned to leave the administration to refocus on his business after a "gruelling" schedule of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East.
Witkoff’s pull-back could open questions over how engaged the US will remain in the subsequent phases of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, which has vague calls for everything from Hamas’s disarmament to the reconstruction of Gaza and the appointment of a Palestinian technocratic government.
Earlier on Wednesday, my colleague Jennifer Oliver O'Connell reported on two instances of shenanigans by both foreign nationals and political figures that the State Department, under the firm direction of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is now working to put right
Getting back to the Middle East peace deal, what the alleged report by MEE seems to be referring to is, as RedState wrote, the board of peace put in place by Pres. Trump to oversee the process, with input and support from U.S.
The shifty fake news reporting continued while referencing that effort, and it's easy to see who these alleged "sources" might be who are trying to weaken the work of Team Trump as a whole: (emphasis added)
But US and Arab diplomats have questioned how active Trump will be, particularly on holding Israel to the terms of the ceasefire after the victory lap of his peace summit in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
We've seen some of these types fail to credit the administration, including Pres. Trump, intentionally--even trying to give the credit for peace, incredibly, to former Pres. Biden, among other Democrats.
The White House has responded in a comment published in an updated version of the MEE story (note, though, that there is no retraction -- not in the headline or in the body of the report itself). The WH calls it "totally false," chastising the outlet for failing to uphold the barest of journalistic standards:
Following publication, Anna Kelly, the White House deputy press secretary said: “This is totally false, which we would have made clear if Middle East Eye gave us adequate opportunity to comment. Special Envoy Witkoff has no plans to step down at this time."
Now, Witkoff has just responded to the "journalism" by Middle East Eye in an X post, demanding an immediate retraction:
This is totally disgraceful. It certainly isn't journalism, as much as legacy media outlets pretend to be unbiased purveyors of the facts. Obviously, they didn't even try to reach either Witkoff or the White House to see if what was being spread around was true. When we say you don't hate the media enough, this is what we mean. It shows their true motives; they do not care what the real story is, as long as it pushes their anti-Trump narrative one step further.
Editor's Note: Donald Trump is America's Peace Time President. Support and follow RedState’s latest reporting on the president's historic trip to the Middle East.
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