President Joe Biden said Wednesday that his administration's success in negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon will prompt the White House to conclude a ceasefire and hostage agreement with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
There are currently 101 hostages in Gaza, including four Americans believed to be alive. Hamas remains a major obstacle to a deal, but appears to be willing to restart negotiations after Hezbollah effectively left Hamas on the battlefield after reaching an agreement with Israel.
A year ago, there was an eight-day ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that allowed the release of 110 hostages, most of them women and children.
Biden also mentioned a broader diplomatic push in the Middle East, centered on a proposed peace and normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. But the Biden-Harris administration itself has thrown up obstacles to such an agreement, insisting it includes the establishment of a Palestinian state in September 2023.
During President Biden's term, not a single country was added to President-elect Donald Trump's Abraham Accords, in part because President Biden did not want Iran to pose a credible military threat after its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. President Biden started by withdrawing aid from Saudi Arabia. and put pressure on Israel.
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.
