Witkoff Scrambles to Revive Gaza Deal
July 25 — President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is scrambling to save a Gaza ceasefire/hostage exchange deal that the Butcher of Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister "Bibi" Netanyahu, is trying to once again sabotage. Sources report that the indomitable Special Envoy has been instructed by President Trump "to take no prisoners" and bring home a deal by next week.
On the surface, or at least in the public eye, such an effort now appears difficult, if not impossible—especially after Witkoff announced, following a meeting with chief Israeli negotiator and the man called "Bibi's brain," External Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and Witkoff's good friend and fellow mediator Qatari Foreign Minister Muhammed Al Thani in Italy, that he was pulling American mediators out of the negotiations on the deal in Doha, saying he would need to explore new ways to free the hostages and end the murderous war. That followed an announcement that Israel was pulling back its negotiators for consultation. Both Witkoff and Bibi declared Hamas's response to the latest modifications in Witkoff's proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and partial hostage release plan "unacceptable."
Backchannel Progress Despite Official Breakdowns
But behind the scenes, the wheels for the deal are still turning. Sources report that Hamas had, in fact, mostly accepted the plan and needed to be backed off some requests for things they know—or should know—that they will never get, like a clause saying that Israel will not restart the war after the 60 days expire. These sources also say that Witkoff intends to get assurances that Israel will not proceed with its plan to build what many people are calling a concentration camp atop the ruins of the Strip’s once-largest city, Rafah, now bulldozed into a Hiroshima-like wasteland. And he will force Israel to open the borders to massive humanitarian aid, which will be run by the UN and Red Cross and the American-Israeli starvation administrators of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF).
Witkoff believes the starvation crisis, along with the broader humanitarian crisis brought on by the actions of the Israel Defense Forces—and now finally making its way into the global media—is putting pressure on Israel to make a deal. That and the mass demonstrations against the government for delaying one this long. “Despite what he said yesterday,” said a source, “Steve still thinks there is a deal out there that can be concluded quickly.” The issue, said this and other sources, is how far President Trump is willing to pressure Netanyahu to make one. For Bibi, the deal in limbo helps his efforts to stay in power, backed by his coalition of morally degenerate imbeciles like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who will likely quit the coalition if a deal is signed.
Political Calendar Plays Into Netanyahu’s Strategy
These sources say it’s likely that no deal will be finalized until the Knesset leaves for its summer recess next week. That means the government, which is already a minority government, could stay in power until the fall, when a no-confidence vote could disband it and force elections later in the year. Netanyahu is already playing with the calendar, also seeking to delay a final reckoning on his corruption trial by delaying his testimony. “A hostage deal actually takes some pressure off Netanyahu,” said one source, who cautioned against believing anything that comes out of his mouth.
Hamas Faces Irrelevance as Gaza’s Suffering Deepens
So Witkoff must now roll up his sleeves and go to work. He has already reached out to the Hamas leadership, who are slowly coming to realize that they, as an organization, are the walking dead and will have no role in a post-war Gaza. The people of Gaza have long ago ceased to care about Hamas; they are too busy struggling to survive against a genocidal effort to exterminate them, enabled by Hamas's useless, murderous attack on Israel Oct. 7, 2023. The late, unlamented Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahyah Sinwar, once famously said that he would welcome a million Palestinian martyrs in his war against the Zionist entity. If the war goes on, looking up from hell, Sinwar may yet get his wish—accommodated by his evil twin, Netanyahu. In the end, that result—the extermination of an entire people to make way for what Ben-Gvir has called an Israeli-run Riviera (here, he borrows from a plan first uttered by Trump himself, but now fortunately abandoned), built in Palestinian-less Gaza—is what the man some have dubbed the “Metternich of the Bronx” fights to avoid.
Trump’s Calculus: Pressure Mounts on Netanyahu
“Steve has to get this done soon,” said a source close to the White House. “Trump needs him to make the deal with the Iranians and to halt the war in the Ukraine.” What will determine if he succeeds is whether—backed by President Trump—it is he, not Bibi, who sets the agenda in Gaza and the talks proceed according to his plans, not the Israelis’. On this, Trump needs to make the right political calculations. He has to go up against all those crazy Zionist lobby members of Congress in his own party, like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-NC). But the ravings of these murderous freaks, when placed against the images of starving children now blasted across the internet and even in major media, are becoming too much for many American Jews to take. The Congressional fat boy, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FLA), two days ago responded to those pictures by saying, “Release the Hostages; Until then, Starve Away.”
“The serious humanitarian situation in Gaza must not be taken lightly, especially by those at the highest levels of government,” responded the American Jewish Committee in an X post. “Implying that starvation is a legitimate tactic is unacceptable.”
“Trump needs to calibrate,” said a source close to the White House, “and then kick Bibi in the nuts to make him take Steve’s deal.” These sources report that Trump is already angry with Bibi over the Israeli shelling of the only Catholic church in Gaza last week, an attack which killed three and wounded a dozen more sheltering Gazans.
“What’s with that fucking Netanyahu?” Trump is reported to have fumed after receiving reports of the attack. “Doesn’t he know he should have never been operating near it? Motherfucker. He is fucking responsible, no one else.”