President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the administration’s success in negotiating a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah would inspire the White House to press for a ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas in Gaza.
There are currently still 101 hostages in Gaza, including four Americans who are thought to be alive. Hamas has been the major obstacle to a deal, but it seemed to indicate a willingness to renew negotiations after Hezbollah essentially left it alone on the battlefield after reaching an agreement with Israel.
Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel, and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released and an end to the war without Hamas in power.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 27, 2024
Yesterday's ceasefire brings us closer to realizing a future I’ve been pushing for my entire presidency where the Middle East is at peace, prosperous, and integrated across borders.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 27, 2024
There was an eight-day truce between Hamas and Israel a year ago, which allowed the release of 110 hostages, most of them women and children.
Biden also mentioned his broader diplomatic push in the Middle East, the centerpiece of which is a proposed deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia for peace and normalization. However, the Biden-Harris administration itself threw obstacles in the way of such a deal in September 2023 by insisting that it include the creation of a Palestinian state.
Not one country was added to President-elect Donald Trump’s Abraham Accords during President Biden’s term, partly because he lacked the ability to deliver any credible military threat to Iran after the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, and partly because he began by withdrawing support from Saudi Arabia and pressuring Israel.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
