Quotes
The involvement of President-elect Trump’s team has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line,
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said of the deal
The continued occupation by the Israel [military] inside the UNIFIL area operations and the conduct of military operations in Lebanese territory are violations of Resolution 1701,
said U.N. Secretary-General António GuterresIt's a tough moment. On the one hand, we're happy and excited for the families that will hopefully get to see their loved ones after such a long time,
Orna Neutra told Fox News
We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast."
Trump, in a podcast interview, claimed his involvement accelerated the process, saying
When phase two begins, there will be an exchange for the remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and all remaining Israeli forces will be withdrawn from Gaza, making the temporary cease-fire permanent,
President Biden stated during a press conference WednesdayIt's as clear as can be that the delay is a result of political pressures in Jerusalem and Netanyahu's fear for his coalition,
Shira Efron, senior research director at the Israel Policy Forum and former United Nations consultant in Jerusalem, told Newsweek
Once he reached the conclusion that one of the two most extreme members of his government, who only jointly can deprive him of a governing majority, is not about to jump ship, he went for it,
Novik saidThe Biden-Trump cooperation on this issue has been both unprecedented and impressive,
Novik saidWe appreciate how the outgoing and incoming administrations put politics aside at this transitional juncture to help advance a hostage agreement,
Harounoff saidHappy with his powerful position and alarmed by consistent polls indicating that he is not making the electoral threshold, thus not returning should elections are called, all Bibi [Netanyahu] had to do is offer him some face-saving formula,
Novik saidThe Hamas terrorist organization continues to exploit the civilian population for its terror attacks against the State of Israel in violation of international law,
the IDF saidThe last-minute hiccup in convening the Israeli cabinet to approve the deal has been a microcosm of the Netanyahu conduct on the issue throughout: the longevity of his governing coalition being the primary consideration,
Nimrod Novik, an Israel Policy Forum fellow who served as senior foreign policy adviser to former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, told NewsweekWhat we have seen from the U.S. in the past few days, seeing a collaboration transcending both administrations, was a clear demonstration for the commitment of the U.S. to reach to that deal,
Sheikh Mohammed said at the timeIs that a joke?"
In response to a reporter's final shouted question about whether he or Trump deserved credit for the deal, Biden simply repliedThe only difference now, and thankfully the game changer, is the PM's desire to please President Trump,
she addedWhere we could be facing a more serious crisis is in the negotiations and transition into stage 2, and if there is stage 3, of the agreement,
she addedThe humanitarian toll in Gaza and Hezbollah’s decision to ink a separate cease-fire deal with Israel in November made Hamas more flexible,
noted Hugh Lovatt and Muhammad Shehada of the European Council on Foreign Relations
All hell will break out. If those hostages aren’t back, I don’t want to hurt your negotiation, if they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,
Trump told reporters.jpg)
Because he’s afraid of Trump.”
And when asked by POLITICO why the Israeli prime minister now appeared ready to agree to a deal he’d dismissed before, Olmert simply said
It wasn’t a warning to Hamas. It was a warning to Netanyahu. To Bibi,
Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, told POLITICO