While President-elect Trump and President Biden are jockeying for credit for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, some Republicans are wary of the deal and whether it will stick.
‘There’s no part of me that trusts Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa martyrs Brigade, Fatah or the rank-and-file people that voted for Hamas,’ Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., the House’s new Foreign Affairs Committee chair, told Fox News Digital.
‘There’s no part of me that trusts them in any way whatsoever. I do trust there’s a fear of God in them from the fact that President Trump is coming in, Secretary Rubio and Stefanik, others, [and] what’s not going to continue with programs like UNRWA,’ he added, referring to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. ‘I trust that there is a chilling effect, you know, 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 itself alongside some of his colleagues, Mast said, ‘I’m skeptical, like anything.’
‘If it gets Americans home, I’m happy about getting Americans home,’ Mast went on. ‘That’s been a problem for me that, you know, if there’s Americans detained abroad, I would have every expectation that there’s an American coming to get them. And, to me, unfortunately, that hasn’t been the result.’
The cease-fire is meant as a way to bring home the remaining hostages taken from Israel and provide a path to peace for the 2 million Palestinians who have been living in a war zone since Hamas’ bloody attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The deal has implications for the U.S.: Seven hostages who remain in Hamas’ clutches are Americans.
‘Why is lame duck Joe Biden trying to cram down a bad deal on Israel on his way out the door?’ Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote on X. ‘The only ‘deal’ should be unconditional surrender by Hamas—which is already nearly destroyed—and return of ALL hostages. Instead, we hear reports that Biden is demanding that Israel withdraw from key terrain in Gaza, release dozens of hardened terrorists for every one hostage, and get back only SOME hostages?’
Sources confirmed Israeli reporting to Fox News Digital that it was Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who traveled to Doha, Qatar and strong-handed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into sitting down to finalize the deal that had evaded the Biden administration’s mediation for the better part of the past year.
The first cease-fire in November 2023 lasted only one week, with both sides accusing the other of breaking it. In that time, 105 hostages were released, as were 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Trump had promised there would be ‘hell to pay’ if a cease-fire was not reached by the time he took office, which will be on Jan. 20. His surrogates developed close relationships with Arab leaders in swing states like Michigan throughout the campaign, promising Trump would bring peace to the Middle East.
The deal, brokered by Qatari negotiators, with the help of mediation from both the outgoing Biden administration and Witkoff, is set up in three phases. It will see three hostages released on the first day – Sunday – with new hostages released each week. That phase will entail a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi corridor on Egypt’s border and the so-called buffer zone in the Gazan territory bordering Israel.
Women, children and men over 50 will be prioritized initially. Over the course of the 42-day first phase, 33 of the remaining Israeli hostages will be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
That group is likely to include some who have been convicted of murder. On Thursday, Netanyahu delayed ratification of the deal over disagreements about whether he would get a veto over which prisoners convicted of murder would be released. Israel’s Cabinet will now meet Friday to ratify the deal.
‘This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,’ Trump wrote on social media.
Biden said from the White House that ‘my diplomacy never ceased 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 incoming administration.’