Is It a Real Ceasefire or Only a Scam?
What concessions did Steve Witkoff offer to Netanyahu?
Philip Giraldi • January 17, 202.The UNZ Review.
I rather choose to believe that Witkoff offered Netanyahu a stick and a carrot. The prime minister is in deep trouble with his own governing coalition, most particularly the factions led by Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who reject any ceasefire until Hamas is destroyed completely, but it now appears that even if they resign from the government they will not choose to bring down Netanyahu. One inducement from Trump appears to be overturning a Biden decision to sanction right wing Israeli settlers on the West Bank who are using violence to harass Palestinians in their remaining villages and on their farms. It has also been suggested that the US might look the other way if Gaza itself might be resettled with Israeli Jewish settlers, eliminating any return home for Gazans. Convincing the settler movement to stay positively engaged with what is about to happen could be crucial to Netanyahu’s survival. To bring the settlers around, they have also been invited by senior Republican Party officials to attend the Trump inauguration on Monday. The settlers will also attend the first session of a newly-created “Friends of Judea and Samaria Caucus” in the US Congress. Judea and Samaria are Israel’s preferred biblical names for the West Bank, indicating that the Republicans are amenable to Jewish state’s eradicating both the Palestinians and even the name of Palestine itself.
More important in terms of what is happening on the ground, Israeli news channel ynet is reporting that “President Trump, according to a source familiar with the details, has already promised Netanyahu and Minister Ron Dermer that if they agree to a ceasefire and the withdrawal of IDF forces from the Gaza Strip, he will support Israel retroactively if it decides to return to fighting and violate the ceasefire.” Alternatively, Israel might choose to renew fighting after the initial six-week truce period is over, making it appear to be in full compliance with the ceasefire. They can play it either way and might even have a commitment from Washington to advance preparations for a joint military action against Iran.
As a third incentive for Israel, the Trump Administration has reportedly agreed to remove commercial US sanctions that were initiated in November 2021 on the Israeli spy company NSO Group and its “maliciously targetable” Pegasus spyware that “has been used to hack US government officials and other top level politicians, peace and human rights activists, international lawyers, journalists and more – and which is said to have played a key role in Saudi Arabia’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.” Biden administration officials claimed at the time that the move represents the first time that the Treasury Department has sanctioned people or entities for the misuse of spyware.
I’ll give it month.