Trump and top aide challenge Netanyahu’s claim ceasefire will be temporary

 

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

President-elect Donald Trump and a top aide appeared to contradict claims by senior Israeli leaders over the weekend that Israel may resume its war against Hamas after the first phase of a three-part ceasefire.

On Saturday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had assured him that despite the cabinet ratifying the three-part hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas Friday night, the IDF would resume its operations against the terror group in Gaza after the first phase of the deal.

Netanyahu himself hinted at a renewal of the fighting, saying Saturday night that Israel is still committed to the destruction of Hamas and ensuring that Gaza never again threatens Israel’s security.

“We retain the right to return to the war, if necessary, with the backing of the U.S.,” Netanyahu said, claiming that Trump himself had endorsed a return to fighting in Gaza during a call last week with the Israeli premier.

Trump “welcomed the agreement and rightly emphasized that the first stage of the agreement is a temporary ceasefire. That is what he said, ‘a temporary ceasefire’.”

That same day, however, Trump appeared to contradict Netanyahu’s claim during an interview with NBC News.

Trump said that the new ceasefire “better hold.”

“Well, we’re going to see very soon, and it better hold.”

The incoming president recalled his recent telephone conversation with Netanyahu, saying that while he said Israel must do “what has to be done,” he also emphasized that the war “has to end.”

“Just keep doing what you have to do. You have to have — this has to end. We want it to end, but to keep doing what has to be done.”

Trump said his administration would ensure the ceasefire holds, saying the maintenance of the truce would be a litmus test of American soft power abroad.

“The United States has to get respected again, and it has to get respected fast. But respect is the primary word that I use,” Trump said. “If they respect us, it will hold. If they don’t respect us, all hell will break out.”

Hours after the interview, Axios cited three sources who claimed that Trump’s choice for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, on Saturday pledged to relatives of hostages in Gaza that the Trump administration would ensure that the full three-stages of the ceasefire will be implemented.

Hostage families have feared that the 64 other hostages remaining in Gaza not slated for release during the six-week initial phase will be left in the coastal enclave should Israel resume the war after phase one of the agreement.

Waltz assured the families that the White House would push for talks aimed at securing the implementation of the second phase of the deal as soon as possible.

It Wasn’t a Deal – It Was a Crime

 

by Alan M. Dershowitz

Translations of this item:

• The decision by the Israeli government to make significant concessions to the Hamas kidnappers should never be called a “deal.” It was an extortion…. The kidnapping was a crime. And the extortionate demand was an additional crime.
• When a terrorist group “negotiates” with a democracy, it always has the upper hand. The terrorists are not constrained by morality, law or truth. They can murder at will, rape at will, torture at will and threaten to do worse. The democracy, on the other hand, must comply with the rules of law and must listen to the pleas of the hostage families.
• Especially complicit, with blood on their hands, are supporters of Hamas on university campuses who chant for intifada and revolution. Also complicit are international organizations, such as the International Criminal Court, that treat Israel and Hamas as equals.
• [L]et us put the blame for ALL the deaths in Gaza where it belongs: on Hamas and the useful idiots and useless bigots who support murderous terrorists.

The decision by the Israeli government to make significant concessions to the Hamas kidnappers should never be called a “deal.” It was an extortion. 

Would you call it a deal if somebody kidnapped your child and you “agreed” to pay ransom to get her back? Of course not. The kidnapping was a crime. And the extortionate demand was an additional crime. 

The decision by the Israeli government to make significant concessions to the Hamas kidnappers should never be called a “deal.” It was an extortion. Would you call it a deal if somebody kidnapped your child and you “agreed” to pay ransom to get her back? Of course not. The kidnapping was a crime. And the extortionate demand was an additional crime.

So the proper description of what occurred is that Israel, pressured by the United States, capitulated to the unlawful and extortionate demands of Hamas as the only way of saving the lives of kidnapped babies, mothers and other innocent, mostly civilian, hostages.

This was not the result of a negotiation between equals. If an armed robber puts a gun to your head and says, “your money or your life,” your decision to give him your money would not be described as a deal. Nor should the extorted arrangement agreed to by Israel be considered a deal. So let’s stop using that term.

When a terrorist group “negotiates” with a democracy, it always has the upper hand. The terrorists are not constrained by morality, law or truth. They can murder at will, rape at will, torture at will and threaten to do worse. The democracy, on the other hand, must comply with the rules of law and must listen to the pleas of the hostage families. The result of this exertion was bad for Israel’s security, but good for the hostages who remain alive and their families. The heart rules the brain, as it often does in moral democracies that value the immediate saving of the lives of known people over the future deaths of hypothetical people whose identities we do not know. This tradeoff is understandable as compassionate, even if not compelling as policy.

If every democratic nation adopted a policy of never negotiating with terrorists, it might discourage terrorism. But every nation submits to the demands of kidnappers and extortionists, so terrorism and hostage-taking have become a primary tactic of the worst people in the world. And the rest of us are complicit.

Especially complicit, with blood on their hands, are supporters of Hamas on university campuses who chant for intifada and revolution. Also complicit are international organizations, such as the International Criminal Court, that treat Israel and Hamas as equals. These supporters of terrorism encouraged Hamas to hold out for many months in the belief that their support would pressure Israel into making more concessions.

The students of terror – the university students who are encouraging Hamas into continuing their murderous ways – must be held accountable for their complicity in evil. Though they may have the same First Amendment rights as Jews do, they should be treated with the same contempt that Nazis, the KKK and racist supporters of violence are treated. The First Amendment does not give them the right to be hired by decent employers.

The First Amendment gives employers the power to refuse to associate with supporters of Nazism, Hamas terrorism or other evil groups. American law criminalizes giving material support to designated terrorist groups, which include Hamas and Hezbollah. Morality, as distinguished from law, should deem immoral providing any support — material, political, economic or demonstrative – to any terrorist group such as Hamas. Yet both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the Democrat Party urged people to listen to the messages of these protestors. They would never say that about demonstrators who favored lynching blacks or raping women. But Hamas does lynch Jews and rape Jewish women. There is no moral difference.

Let us welcome the news that perhaps 33 of the 98 hostages may be released, some of them alive, with the realization that what Hamas extorted from Israel in return for these releases may well endanger Israel’s security in the future and cost still more innocent lives.

And let us put the blame for ALL the deaths in Gaza where it belongs: on Hamas and the useful idiots and useless bigots who support murderous terrorists.

Ori Ansbacher's Rapists and Murderer will be released!

 The ‘deal’ includes releasing Arafat Irfaiya, the man who brutally raped and murdered Ori Ansbacher. I fear she will not be his last victim. 

These are the heroes of “Palestine”. Take a good look. This is who the children of “Palestine” look up to.

Female prison guards demand rapist be released outside of Israel

 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Female guards at Gilboa Prison appealed to the Supreme Court that a prisoner who raped them be released abroad and not within Israel.

Terrorist Mahmoud Atallah, who is scheduled to be released in exchange for Israeli hostages, was convicted of serious crimes, including the sexual assault of the Gilboa prison guards.

In their appeal, the guards said that the decision to release Atallah within Israel did not take into account the fact that he was a danger to others as well as to the guards themselves.

The female guards said that if Atallah is released to Shechem as planned, he may be a danger to them, since he has threatened them directly and told them he has their personal information.

The guards urged the court to approve an arrangement that would preserve their safety and not endanger the hostage release deal by sending Atallah abroad.

“The defense echelon has once again failed to protect the safety of female prison guards—this time, however, it is also permitting their blood to be shed,” said the guards’ attorneys.

“Exiling the terrorist to Shechem poses a direct and immediate threat to the safety of the female guards. It appears those within the defense echelon view abandoning female guards—essentially IDF soldiers—as an acceptable course of action. We urge the Supreme Court to intervene and insist that the terrorist be sent abroad, in order to ensure the safety of the guards’ lives.”

A number of the 735 Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for 33 hostages in the first phase of the agreement have committed deadly crimes killing hundreds of Israelis. The following are some terrorists slated for release.

Zakariya Zubeidi, the commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah in Jenin, played a central role in orchestrating several terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada. He is responsible for the 2002 Likud branch attack in Beit She’anShe’an, which resulted in the deaths of six people. Zubeidi was also among the prisoners who escaped from Gilboa Prison in September 2021.

Hamas terrorists mock female hostages, release them with ‘goodie bags’ as souvenirs

By World Israel News Staff

In a disturbing revelation, Israeli media reported that Hamas forced three recently released hostages from Gaza—Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher—to participate in a staged propaganda ceremony before their release.

The hostages were handed “gift bags” by their captors, an act that highlights the psychological manipulation employed by the terror group.

The gift bags, reportedly handed to the hostages just before they were transferred to the Red Cross, included unsettling items: a photo of Gaza, photographs of the hostages during their captivity, and a so-called “certificate of release.”

According to Hebrew-language reports, these items were designed to leave a lasting psychological imprint on the survivors, embedding memories of their trauma into tangible objects.

Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, held together in captivity, were allegedly coerced into posing for photos while smiling and holding their certificates.

This grotesque ceremony, described as a “farewell” by Hamas, forced the hostages to simulate gratitude toward their captors, further compounding their psychological distress.

A video released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed the hostages clutching these bags as they were handed over to Israeli troops, a chilling reminder of the torment they endured.

Experts have pointed out that such staged acts serve dual purposes for Hamas. On one hand, they aim to perpetuate the group’s narrative of “humanity” despite the underlying brutality of their actions. On the other, they act as a method of psychological warfare, ensuring that the trauma of captivity lingers long after the hostages have been freed.

The staged ceremony and its accompanying “souvenirs” reveal the calculated cruelty of Hamas’s tactics.

For the survivors, these so-called gifts are not tokens of remembrance but haunting symbols of their ordeal, serving as constant reminders of the psychological and emotional scars left by their time in captivity.

 

Interesting How Victims of the “gen*cide” don’t want a Ceasefire At All

 

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The Returned Hostages .... a quick summary

Three sheep amongst a thousand wolves!

 

Reaction of friends and family as they watch the hostage release.

"This is Romi, back from captivity. You guys are the best in the world": The voice message Romi sent to her friends on WhatsApp.

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Hamas hostage seen reunited with mom after 15 months in captivity as family reveals she lost two fingers

 Emily Damari, one of the three Israeli hostages freed on Sunday, was seen in social media pictures reunited with her mother while on a video call.

Damari met with her mother at an IDF facility near the Gaza border, per the Times of Israel.

Damari, who was wounded in a shooting on Oct. 7, 2023, lost two fingers during the assault, according to her family.

She is seen holding up her bandaged left hand, showing the gruesome injury.

“After 471 days – Emily is finally home,” her mother Mandy Damari said in a statement.

 We would like to thank from the bottom of our hearts everyone who fought tirelessly for Emily throughout this difficult time.  To everyone who raised her voice and called her name, in Israel, England, the United States and the whole world – thank you.  Thanks to you, Emily came home.

“Emily’s nightmare in Gaza is over, but there are still too many families still waiting in pain.  We must work together for the release of all the abductees, down to the last one.  Those still in captivity need immediate humanitarian assistance.

” We ask the media to respect the privacy of Emily and our family at this time.”

Is Trump's Envoy Witkoff going to be a disaster?

 

I hate to say it everyone, but I think Witkoff is going to be a disaster.

First of all, here he appears to draw a moral equivalence between Hamas and right-wing Israelis who oppose the deal—which is gross.

And just below it, he demonstrates zero understanding of Hamas' ideology pic.twitter.com/TNCztTyW37

— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) January 19, 2025

IDF TAKES OUT CAR LOAD OF HAMAS CELEBRATING VICTORY

 

IDF TAKES OUT CAR LOAD OF HAMAS CELEBRATING VICTORY

They came out a few minutes too early https://t.co/doA8c9MLN3

— 💙Hostage Release Live 🇮🇱🇺🇲🇬🇧🇮🇳Jerusalem🔥 (@JerusalemDiary) January 19, 2025

Adam Schiff Re-Hires Former Radical Pro-Palestinian Staffer Maher Bitar

 

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has re-hired Maher Bitar, a former White House staffer who spent his student years as a pro-Palestinian radical in Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), and played a major role in the Biden administration.

Bitar’s new job is confirmed by Legistorm. He also previously worked for Schiff during the first impeachment effort against then-President Donald Trump, who will return to office on Monday.

As Breitbart News reported last year:

Maher Bitar, the White House Coordinator for Intelligence and Defense Policy at the U.S. National Security Council (NSC), was a radical pro-Palestinian activist and a leader within Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

The SJP is one of the most prominent groups involved in the pro-Hamas, antisemitic “encampment” protests that have taken over dozens of university campuses. Its parent group is also the target of a lawsuit by survivors and families of victims of the October 7 terror attack that alleges SJP is a propaganda front for Hamas in the U.S.

In addition, conservative author Daniel Greenfield wrote about Bitar’s record for the Jewish News Syndicate:

At the PSM [Palestine Solidarity Movement] conference in Georgetown [in 2006], Bitar had run a session describing how to best demonize Israel. Next year, he facilitated a Palestinian Student Society summit addressed by Joseph Massad, who had called Israel a “Jewish supremacist state” and praised terrorism.

…

A few years later, Bitar could be found presenting at a Sabeel conference featuring some of the worst bigots like Rebecca Vilkomerson of JVP, who had invited a terrorist to address the BDS hate group, and Richard Falk, who had endorsed a book which wondered whether “Hitler might have been right after all.”

…

Bitar went to work for UNRWA, interned at the misnamed and militantly anti-Israel Foundation for Middle East Peace and studied at Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre, writing papers on the so-called “Nakba” and on “Palestinian” activism. He appeared to describe Israel’s security barrier as a “segregation wall.”

Schiff is considered a pro-Israel Senator, by the standards of the Democratic Party, but his reliance on Bitar for advice on national security policy signals a possible shift mirroring the anti-Israel drift of much of the rest of his party.

Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher to be released today

 Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbrecher are the three hostages who will be released this afternoon after more than 470 days in captivity in Gaza.

Romi Gonen, 24, from Kfar Vradim, was abducted from the Novas music festival. At 10:15 a.m. on October 7, 2023, she told her mother, Merav Leshem-Gonen, on the phone that she had been shot. Her family confirmed earlier today that she will be among the hostages who are released today.

Emily Damari, 28, from Kfar Gaza, is a British citizen. Her mother, Mandy, expressed deep concern in an interview with the BBC last month that her daughter was no longer alive. “I am desperate for a sign of life,” she said.

Doron Steinbracher, 31, from Kfar Aaza, worked as a veterinary nurse when she was kidnapped from her home on October 7. She was among the three hostagess who appeared in a video released by Hamas on January 26.

The hostage release is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

Hamas was supposed to have provided the names of the three hostages who are to be released today by 8:30 a.m. this morning. However, it only provided the names of the hostages at about 10:00 a.m., an hour and a half after the deadline, delaying the start of the ceasefire by that amount of time.

A small number of hostages will be released every week over the course of the first phase of the ceasefire, which will last six weeks. 33 hostages are expected to be released in total during the first phase, out of 98 hostages who are still being held in Gaza.

The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, in a post on his X account

 

“If the ‘deal’ passes, we will leave the government with a heavy heart, and I will leave a ministry where I have invested all my energy over the past two years. I will step down with a heavy heart after establishing the growing National Guard, implementing a weapons reform, reforming the prison system, founding a special unit to combat incitement, restoring pride to police officers, prison and fire fighters, strengthening the Border Police, Special Patrol Unit (Yasam), and the Counter-Terrorism Unit (Yamas). I fought for fair salaries and gave them the support they deserve, and I was in the midst of strengthening and expanding municipal police stations to provide optimal service to citizens.

I love Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and will ensure he continues to be Prime Minister, but I will resign because the deal that was signed is disastrous. It releases hundreds of terrorists with blood on their hands who, upon release, will seek to murder the next Jew. It allows thousands of terrorists to return to the northern Gaza Strip with weapons—with the sole intent of killing Jews. It harms Israel’s defensive capabilities along the Philadelphi Corridor and other critical points, and it reverses all the war’s successes that cost us so much blood.

During my two years in the government, I also dealt with things I liked less and that didn’t align with my views. That’s the nature of coalition partnerships—sometimes you have to swallow quite a few frogs. But when such a terrible deal arises, one that abandons the security of Israel’s citizens and crosses every red line the government set for itself, even though the easiest path would be to stay in the government and continue the massive reforms in the ministry, it must not continue. This is a moment of truth for every politician: Does a person give up all their beliefs for the sake of their position, or give up their position for the sake of their beliefs? My beliefs have been shaped by attending far too many funerals. I will not lend my hand to a reckless deal.

I am filled with pride for the ministers and Knesset members of the party who demonstrated strength and integrity, agreeing to give up everything because they refuse to be partners in this agreement. Minister Waserlauf and Minister Eliyahu are both giving up ministries where they have done remarkable work—I was always proud of the praise they received. MK Fogel is relinquishing a committee where he performed wonders, providing support to the security and rescue forces and turning it into the most productive committee in the Knesset—a real legislative powerhouse. Likewise, the talented MK Kroizer is giving up his influence in the Judicial Appointments Committee, and MK Limor Son Har-Melech, the soul of Otzma Yehudit, is also giving up an important role. They stood bravely, voiced their opinions, and voted one after another in favor of resignation.

The hostages are close to my heart and to the hearts of all party members. We want to see them freed and reunited with their families, but not through surrender to Hamas. Instead, we must stop the transfer of fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza until all the hostages are returned home.

If the war resumes and we know that the Israeli government is acting to defend its citizens and not leaving a massive terror hub in Gaza, we will return to the government. We are not toppling this government and will support it from the outside, but we will not be partners to a defeatist agreement.

We will vote against the deal in the government, and if it passes, we will submit our resignation.

The ‘Otzma Yehudit’ party will continue to be here for you in everything you need.”

Crap that will End Tomorrow!

 

This shlit ends in 2 days

pic.twitter.com/Gzh50UGI8d

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 18, 2025

The Chutzpah of Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter Trying to Convince Mike Huckabee that Chareidim Should not be Drafted!

 

Coverage of meeting with incoming US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee and Rav Dovid Hofstedter

Thank God that Mike Huckabee was having none of that and told Hofsteder off telling him politely that US cannot get involved in internal Israeli affairs! 

But the sheer chutzpah! 

Reb Dovid with his fancy English dressing up his outright perfidy with niceties! He fooled no one! 

Approaching the incoming US Ambassador to Israel, a Christian Evangelicist, no less, to undermine the Israeli Democratic process! 

First with his sneaky introduction to the subject "admitting" that a country needs an army to protect its citizens, but then veers into his agenda that he doesn't want Chareidim to be in the process! R' Dovid wants only Chilonim to "moiser nefesh" for the country! 

I cannot get over this! Totally disappointed in R' Dovid! 

?האחיכם יבוא למלחמה ואתם ישבו פה 

2 Judges in Iran’s Capital Tied to 1988 Mass Executions..Assassinated!

 

A man fatally shot two prominent hard-line judges in Iran’s capital Saturday, officials said, both of whom allegedly took part in the mass execution of dissidents in 1988.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the shootings of the judges, clerics Mohammad Mogheiseh and Ali Razini. However, Razini’s involvement in the 1988 executions had likely made him a target in the past, including an assassination attempt in 1999.

Their killings, a rare attack targeting the judiciary, also come as Iran faces economic turmoil, the mauling of its Mideast allies by Israel and the return of Donald Trump to the White House on Monday.

Both clerics served on Iran’s Supreme Court, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. A bodyguard for one of the judges also was wounded in the attack at the Palace of Justice in Tehran, which also serves as the headquarters of the country’s judiciary and typically has tight security.

The attacker, who was armed with a handgun, killed himself, IRNA said.

“According to initial investigations, the person in question did not have a case in the Supreme Court nor was he a client of the branches of the court,” the judiciary’s Mizan news agency said. “Currently, investigations have been launched to identify and arrest the perpetrators of this terrorist act.”

Asghar Jahangir, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, separately told Iranian state television that the shooter had been an “infiltrator,” suggesting he had worked at the courthouse where the killings took place.

Later in the day, Jahangir told state TV that others were involved. “In this regard, some individuals were identified, summoned or arrested and investigations of them have begun.”

Unlike the U.S. Supreme Court, the Iranian Supreme Court has many branches spread across the country. It is the highest court in Iran and can hear appeals on decisions made by lower courts.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a message offered his condolences for the “martyrdom ” of both judges.

Razini had been targeted previously. In January 1999, attackers on motorcycles hurled an explosive at his vehicle, wounding him as he left work as the head of the judiciary in Tehran.

Mogheiseh had been under sanctions from the U.S. Treasury since 2019. At the time, the Treasury described him as having “overseen countless unfair trials, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded.”

“He is notorious for sentencing scores of journalists and internet users to lengthy prison terms,” the Treasury said. Mogheiseh had pressed charges against members of Iran’s Baha’i minority “after they reportedly held prayer and worship ceremonies with other members,” the Treasury said.

Both men had been named by activists and exiles as taking part in the 1988 executions, which came at the end of Iran’s long war with Iraq. After Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini accepted a U.N.-brokered ceasefire, members of the exiled Iranian opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, or MEK, heavily armed by Saddam Hussein, stormed across the Iranian border in a surprise attack.

Iran ultimately blunted their assault, but the attack set the stage for the sham retrials of political prisoners, militants and others that would become known as “death commissions.”

International rights groups estimate that as many as 5,000 people were executed, while the MEK puts the number at 30,000. Iran has never fully acknowledged the executions, apparently carried out on Khomeini’s orders, though some argue that other top officials were effectively in charge in the months before his 1989 death.

The MEK declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.

While Mogheiseh never addressed the accusation he took part in the 1988 “death commissions,” Razini gave a 2017 interview published by Iran’s Shargh newspaper in which he defended the panels as “fair and completely in accordance with the law.”

“Our friends and I who are among the 20 judges in the country, we did our best to ensure the security of that time and the years after and from then, we guaranteed that the hypocrites (the MEK) could never become powerful in this country,” he reportedly said.

FRIEND OF ISRAEL? Trump Threatened Netanyahu To Make Ceasefire Deal

 Donald Trump issued a sharp ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, threatening serious consequences if the widely-criticized deal with Hamas was not finalized. According to a new report by The Wall Street Journal, Trump’s nominee for Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, delivered the message during a meeting with Netanyahu in Israel.

“The president has been a great friend of Israel, and now it’s time to be a friend back,” Witkoff said. He added that Trump was “exasperated” by delays and warned there would be “all hell to pay” if an agreement failed to materialize.

Sources familiar with the meeting revealed that Witkoff told Netanyahu his negotiating team must be empowered to make decisions, warning, “If Netanyahu didn’t want to work that way, everyone should just pack their bags and go home.”

Following the meeting, Netanyahu ordered his team—comprising representatives from Mossad, Shin Bet, the IDF, and political advisors—to travel to Qatar for urgent talks aimed at finalizing the agreement.

The deal, reached in Doha on Wednesday and approved by the Israeli government on Shabbos, closely resembles a proposal put forth by U.S. President Joe Biden in May. However, Netanyahu had resisted that earlier plan, citing pressure from his far-right coalition partners and concerns about maintaining Israel’s military position.

In July, he reportedly told hostage families, “If we give up on victory over Hamas, we are all in danger,” according to a recording obtained by the WSJ.

After Witkoff’s meeting with Netanyahu, Trump claimed on Truth Social that Arab officials observed he had more influence on Netanyahu in one meeting than Biden had over the past year.

Witkoff reportedly alleviated concerns from Hamas that the IDF would resume fighting after the release of hostages in the agreement’s first phase. “If everyone abides by the agreement, then Trump would encourage meaningful negotiations in Phase 2,” a source said.

WHO WAS IN CHARGE? Speaker Johnson’s SHOCKING Biden Revelation Sparks Questions Anew

 President Joe Biden’s apparent confusion over a key executive order left Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson questioning the president’s mental fitness and fearing for the nation’s future. The incident occurred during an Oval Office meeting in early 2024, where Biden seemed unaware he had signed an order freezing new liquid natural gas (LNG) export permits—a decision that had far-reaching economic and geopolitical consequences.

The troubling exchange, described by Johnson in an interview with Bari Weiss for the Free Press, paints a chilling picture of a president who, at 81, appeared incapable of recalling critical actions taken under his own leadership.

“I walked out of that meeting with fear and loathing because I thought, ‘We are in serious trouble—who is running the country?’” Johnson said.

During the meeting, Johnson pressed Biden on the order, which paused LNG export permits to European allies—a move he argued bolstered Vladimir Putin’s war machine by forcing Europe to rely on Russian energy. For Louisiana, a state responsible for 61% of U.S. LNG exports in 2023, the decision had devastating economic implications.

“Why would you do that? You understand we just talked about Ukraine, you understand you are fueling Vladimir Putin’s war machine,” Johnson told the president.

To Johnson’s astonishment, Biden denied issuing the order. “I didn’t do that,” Biden reportedly said. Johnson reiterated that the decision was having catastrophic effects on both national security and his state’s economy. Only after prolonged prodding did Biden seem to recall signing the order, justifying it as necessary to “study the effects of the fuel.”

Johnson, however, remained unconvinced. “I don’t think he was lying. I genuinely believe he didn’t know what he had signed,” he said.

The episode is just one of many alarming signs of Biden’s cognitive decline that have come to light. A bombshell December report revealed that White House staff had been concealing Biden’s mental struggles since the start of his presidency. As early as January 2021, aides had restructured his schedule to minimize public gaffes and limit in-person interactions. Despite these efforts, Biden’s mental lapses became increasingly evident over time.

The president’s decline came to a head during a disastrous 2024 debate performance against President-elect Donald Trump. Biden froze mid-sentence, gave incoherent answers, and frequently lost his train of thought, leaving even his staunchest defenders shaken. Days later, he announced he would not seek re-election, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris instead. Harris went on to suffer a crushing defeat to Trump in November.

The implications of Biden’s mental decline extend far beyond one troubling meeting with Speaker Johnson. The question of who truly ran the country during Biden’s term looms large, as aides and advisors appear to have wielded unprecedented influence over key decisions.

Speaker Johnson reveals that Biden had NO clue about a crucial executive order he signed.

Johnson asked Biden “why?” And Biden basically replied, “I didn’t do that…”

This is chilling. He’s either that demented or he WASN’T running the country.

pic.twitter.com/I5adc7xgjL

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 18, 2025

TikTok Goes Dark in the US

 

TikTok’s app was removed from prominent app stores on Saturday evening just before as a federal law that bans the popular social media platform went into effect.

By 10:50pm Eastern Standard Time, the app was not found on Apple and Google’s app stores, which are prohibited from offering the platform under a law that required TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform or face a U.S. ban.

When users opened the TikTok app on Saturday evening, they encountered a pop-up message from the company that prevented them from scrolling on videos.

“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message said. “Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” the message said. “Please stay tuned!”