Donald Trump has completely upended the powers in the Middle East.
Imagine that the lucrative TV contract between the NBA and one of the networks is coming to an end. Both parties rush to find the right terms for the next contract, but they cannot see eye-to-eye. Donald Trump swoops in and negotiates directly between the broadcaster and the 30 NBA teams. The front office is completely shut out of the negotiations. A new contract is signed, and all parties are happy—except for the NBA executives who realize that they have become superfluous.
Donald Trump has completely rejiggered the power structure in the Middle East. Maybe it would have happened without him, but with his recent announcement of an agreement between Israel and Hamas, the president has shown a new stack of cards in the region. Did you hear any mention of the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the first part of the agreement? Did anyone run over to Ramallah to either consult Mahmud Abbas or fill him in on the negotiations? Was there a PA rep at any of the key discussions in Egypt? Not to my knowledge. The Palestinian Authority, the bastard child of the Oslo Accords, is watching the changes unfold as are the people at the local falafel stand across the street from the Mukhata.
In addition to the PA, the Europeans and the UN have also been let out to pasture. Remember the “Quartet”? Well, Donald Trump and the U.S. are playing solo now. The fat clown who runs the U.N. had to find a working microphone to demand that the parties abide by the agreement in which he played no role. Maybe he is busy trying to figure out how UNRWA can continue killing Jews under the new program. Starmer, Macron, and the other European dwarfs were also left out of the program. They all clapped like seals when a deal to release the hostages and stop active combat was announced. But they also were not at the negotiating table. Their role is to open the door for Donald Trump.
The players who are sitting at the table: Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and, of course, Qatar. Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar apparently applied the screws to Hamas to agree to the Trump 20-point program. Qatar is the Bank of Hamas, and both Turkey and Egypt have direct lines to the remaining Hamas leadership. There was a very interesting conversation in the Oval Office recently. Donald Trump was wearing, of all things, an F-35 pin on his lapel. President Erdogan of Turkey was sitting next to him. He had come for some F-35s and other American goodies. A reporter asked President Trump if he planned to sell Turkey the newest American fighter. Trump’s answer was suggestive. He answered that he would make the deal, but that he wanted certain things from Turkey as well. Could he have been referring to getting Turkey on Hamas’ back to close a pending deal? I don’t serve drinks in the White House, so I cannot know. But Turkey, with its coup in Syria to make Assad a Russian, has strengthened its position in the Middle East. Trump knows it and wants to leverage Turkey’s role in order to advance American interests, which include peace. Turkish Airlines is petitioning to restart flights to and from Tel Aviv, after abandoning the market for two years.
Those left out of the Trump program deserve to be on the sidelines. The Palestinian Authority’s only regret on the October 7th massacre is that they did not initiate it. Their actions and rhetoric are no less anti-Israel than those of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In 1993, as Yasir Arafat’s presence on the South Lawn was soiling the grass there, leftist fools in Israel, the U.S., and Europe felt that they could simply wish away generations of open Jew hatred by putting out a new shingle in Ramallah. Over a thousand Israelis were murdered during the second intifada due to the willful ignorance of these people, one of whom is Tony Blair who has visions of grandeur as the future viceroy of Gaza. Hamas has nixed his role, which makes me want to give them one credit point. The PA, the UN, and the Europeans showed themselves to be conflicted, distracted, and too bureaucratic to actually contribute to peace between Israel and Palestinians. So Donald Trump cut to the chase. He leaned on the countries that have influence today and are dependent on the U.S.—and this list includes Israel. Notice how Qatar got its U.S. protection promise from future attack just a week before the deal was rolled out? The deadweight bodies like the UN and the EU were sidelined so that actual results might be gained. They could read about the deal in the newspaper after its publication.
The supposed non-Hamas technocratic government in Gaza sounds like a pipe dream. The number of technocrats in Gaza is so small that they could all fit into a VW Beetle and still have room for their wives and children. It is an interesting idea though. Natan Sharansky said that in the 1990s he brought a bunch of Palestinian businessmen from Ramallah to meet Bill Clinton. “Mr. President, here is the future leadership of the Palestinian people.” As per the former Refusenik, Clinton looked up and said, “It’s Arafat, Arafat, and only Arafat.” At least today they are talking about a government that does not include the Palestinian Authority or one of the terror groups. Anyone who has spent more than five minutes on X has seen any number of videos of Gazans screaming that they would rather kill Jews than eat or have a roof over their heads. This thinking is not going to change quickly and one would be hard-pressed to find some type of leadership material from this dreck. The non-Hamas Hamas-leaning government that is supposed to run Gaza will be told to keep its Jew hatred around the dinner table and away from social media.
A side note to President Trump’s proposed visit. Rumor has it that guests on the top two floors of the King David Hotel have been cleared out for the incoming presidential party. The American delegation usually takes those floors as the top suite has bulletproof glass. They also usually take rooms and floors from other hotels. Right now, we are in the middle of a major Jewish holiday. People being moved booked those rooms at least a year ago. They cost a fortune. While I am sure that those affected will receive some type of compensation, where will they go? All of the local hotels are booked up due to the massive influx of foreign guests for the holiday season. I didn’t see any well-dressed people sleeping on the sidewalk in front of our place, so apparently they did find them alternative quarters. Maybe they can sleep at the embassy.
As I wrote last week, I don’t believe that the deal will get much past the first phase, namely full hostage release in exchange for Israel reducing its footprint from 73 percent to 53 percent of Gaza, including all border regions. But maybe that was the goal. The president certainly has made the plight of the hostages a centerpiece of his efforts during his nine months in office. I am no fan of Turkey, Egypt or Qatar, but they are being elevated in the present agreement into the major players in the region. Will a broader peace reign? Will the Abraham Accords be expanded? And will those kicked out of their rooms get them back when the presidential entourage goes home? Stay tuned!
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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