Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged that pressure on Israel led to Hamas' potential ceasefire and withdrawal from the hostage agreement. new york times Published on Saturday's podcast.
from transcript (via the State Department):
Secretary Blinken: I think the question we had was: How can we most effectively shape the conflict and bring it to an end? And focusing on a cease-fire/hostage agreement was, in our estimation, the quickest and most durable way to achieve closure. And, as I said, Hamas saw Israel under public pressure and backed off. Another factor that forced Hamas to withdraw was that there would be a broader conflict in which Hezbollah would attack Israel, Iran would attack Israel, other actors would attack Israel, and Israel would hold hands. It was their faith and hope. It was packed and Hamas was able to continue its activities. That's why we've worked hard to prevent that from happening.
Indeed, Hezbollah and Iran attacked Israel, but Israel's missile defense systems and eventual counterattacks were effective—often against the wishes of the Biden-Harris administration.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. he is the author of Agenda: What should President Trump do in his first 100 days?available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of Trumpian Virtues: Lessons and Legacy of the Donald Trump Presidencynow available on Audible. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
