Mornin’ Politocadoes!
Israel’s war in Gaza continues and pressure builds for Netanyahu to end it. Today, representatives from the US, Qatar, Israel and Egypt will meet to discuss a hostage and ceasefire deal. The summit will be held in Doha and is seen as a final chance at lowering the rising tensions in the Middle East as Iran has begun threats of retaliation against Israel. Israel having been responsible for the deaths of Hezbollah leaders in Tehran and Beirut.
Netanyahu met with his top security officials and members of Israel’s intelligence services for more than five hours on Wednesday to discuss the mandate of the Israeli negotiators. Time is running out though as his officials expressed to him, reminding him of Hamas’ announcement of the death of one male hostage and the wounding of two female hostages. All very delicate negotiations, indeed. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his counterparts in Egypt and Qatar that “no party in the region should take actions that would undermine efforts to reach a deal”. Guess we’ll just leave this to the professionals and we can all just sit back and watch this whole thing blow over.
But then Trump gave Netanyahu a call.
Yes, Trump was in a call with Netanyahu on Wednesday regarding the hostage and ceasefire deal. One source said that the call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but they also don’t know if that’s what Trump ended up doing. Which is fair. We know well enough by now that he’s a loose cannon when talking with world leaders. From asking for a quid pro quo in Ukraine to congratulating Putin when he shouldn’t congratulate Putin, Trump will do what he thinks is best in the most venal and stupid way possible. Netanyahu is obviously no prize either, probably preferring a US government that isn’t wavering in its unfailing support for Israel.
So, is there definite proof that Trump is trying to sabotage things? No, none whatsoever. In fact, he may well use the fact that he spoke to Netanyahu in the future to convince people he got the ceasefire going. But the Ex-President is actually a fairly predictable human being. Why else would a Presidential Candidate (who is a private citizen now) make a phone call to a world leader, unless he was making certain “deals” he could make good on if he’s elected? Sure sounds like Trump to me, I dunno.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically against the law. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer and Moderna. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status.Also, according to recent polls approximately 50% of adults are not planning on getting their Covid-19 boosters. So please get them and older adults should also look to be vaccinated for RSV!