While Trump and Biden credit Israel-Hamas ceasefire, some Republicans call it a ‘bad deal’
While the president was elected Trump and President Biden try to take credit for the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, some Republicans are wary of the deal and whether it will stick.
“There is no part of me that trusts Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, Fatah, or the ordinary people who voted for Hamas,” Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., a new member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee , he told Fox News Digital.
“There is no part of me that believes them in any way. I believe there is a fear of God in them because of the fact that President Trump, Secretary Rubio and Stefanik, others, are coming. [and] which will not continue with programs like UNRWA,” he added, speaking of United Nations Relief and Works Agency. “I believe there’s a chilling effect, you know, of how they see the world going forward. But there’s no part of me that trusts them in any way.”
Asked if he was celebrating the deal along with some of his colleagues, Mast said: “I’m skeptical, like everyone else.”
“If it brings the Americans home, I’m happy to bring the Americans home,” Mast continued. “That was a problem for me, you know, if there are Americans detained overseas, I would expect there to be an American coming to get them. And, for me, unfortunately, that was not the result.”
The cease-fire was intended as a way to return home the remaining hostages from Israel and provide a path to peace for the 2 million Palestinians living in the war zone since the bloody attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023.
Trump has promised there will be “hell to pay” if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Hamas don’t agree to a ceasefire by the time he takes office. (AP/Sebastian Scheiner)
The deal has implications for the US: The seven hostages remaining in Hamas’ clutches are Americans.
“Why is he a lame duck Joe Biden trying to make a bad deal with Israel on the way out?” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X. “The only ‘deal’ should be the unconditional surrender of Hamas—already nearly destroyed—and the return of ALL hostages. Instead, we’re hearing reports that Biden is demanding that Israel withdraw from key Gaza ground, release dozens of hardened terrorists for every hostage, and return only SOME hostages?”
Sources confirmed Israeli reporting to Fox News Digital that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Doha, Qatar and the firm-handed prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sit down to finalize a deal that has eluded mediation by the Biden administration for most of the past year.
The first ceasefire in November 2023 lasted only a week, with both sides accusing the other of violating it. Then 105 hostages were released, as well as 240 Palestinian prisoners.
ISRAELI PRESIDENT NETANYAHU DELAYS VOTES ON GAZA CEASEFIRE, ACCUSES HAMAS OF TRYING TO AVOID DEAL
Trump has vowed there will be “hell to pay” if a ceasefire is not reached by the time he takes office on January 20. His surrogates developed close relationships with Arab leaders in swing states like Michigan during the campaign, promising that Trump would bring peace to the Middle East.
Senator Tom Cotton called the ceasefire a “bad deal”. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)
Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., said he did not believe Hamas or the Palestinians would support the deal. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images/File)
The deal, brokered by Qatari negotiators with help from the outgoing Biden administration and Witkoff, consists of three phases. Three hostages will be freed on the first day – Sunday – with new hostages to be released every week. That phase will entail the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphia corridor on the border of Egypt and the so-called buffer zone in the Gaza Strip bordering Israel.
Initially, priority will be given to women, children and men over 50 years of age. During the 42-day first phase, the 33 remaining Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
That group probably includes some who have been convicted of murder. On Thursday, Netanyahu deferred ratification deal because of a disagreement over whether he would get a veto on which prisoners convicted of murder would be released. The Israeli government will now meet on Friday to ratify the deal.
“This EPIC cease-fire agreement could only have happened as a result of our historic victory in November, because it signaled to the world that my administration will seek peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies,” Trump wrote on social networks.
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Biden said from the White House that “my diplomacy has never stopped in their efforts to get this done.”
He added: “This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the new administration.”
