Two months ago, then-President-Elect Donald Trump, with his special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff by his side, reiterated: “If those hostages aren’t back … by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East.” His often-repeated statement gave hope to all seeking the release of the 98 Israeli hostages (including three with dual American citizenship) in Hamas captivity in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

It seemed President Trump wished to repeat the scene of the 52 Americans who were abducted by supporters of the Iranian Revolution on November 4, 1979, and released on Ronald Reagan’s inauguration day on January 20, 1981, though without publicly acknowledged blackmail payments. So, on January 5, 2025, he sent his long time friend and real estate developer Steve Witkoff to kick-start the stalled negotiations with Hamas in Doha, Qatar, alongside the Biden administration team.

On January 17, the Israeli government was pressured to sign a bad, complicated, and illogical ceasefire agreement, that was inconsistent with the philosophy of the new Trump administration. An extra bit of irony is that the “all hell” threat was supposed to be directed to Hamas, Qatar, and Iran, but not to Israel.

The deal includes three phases of ceasefire (the first 2 phases to last 42 days each). The first phase will see 33 hostages, including “women, children, elderly men, and individuals with critical medical needs”, released by Hamas. On Sunday, January 19, only two of the three American captives of Hamas were released. In return, Israel released hundreds of Hamas terrorists. The agreement also allowed 600 trucks with humanitarian aid to enter Gaza daily, under Hamas control.

Three weeks into the ceasefire, Israeli forces will be required to limit their presence to only key routes, and displaced northern Gazans will be allowed to return, with vehicle inspection taking  place under “Qatari Egyptian supervision“, instead of trustworthy Israeli supervision.

On day 22, the IDF will withdraw from the Netzarim corridor (which cuts Gaza in half) to a buffer zone 500 meters wide along the border with Israel. In total, some 30 Hamas terrorists will be released for each returned Israeli hostage, for a total of 3,000 Hamas terrorists. Senior terrorists will be deported to Qatar and Turkey, but the vast majority will be deported to Judea and Samaria, in the heart of Israel. America and Egypt will guarantee the deal. (See more details here)

Historically, about 80% of released terrorists return to terrorism. Israel’s domestic security force, Shin Bet, has said that 60% return to terror financing and 20% return to direct physical terror. Thus, at least 600 of the freed terrorists will continue their efforts to kill as many Israelis, including Americans, as they can. This deal guarantees a forever war with Gaza and radical Islam (Hamas) instead of a victory for Israel.

Why was Israel forced to accept such a bad deal when a much better deal could have been negotiated one month later, aided by the threat of force? Why did America push Israel to accept a deal that is so unfavorable to America’s long-term interests? Why did America push for a deal designed by the failed Biden administration, which was also favorable to radical Muslim Brotherhood countries such as Qatar and Turkey? What mistakes were made by the American negotiators, particularly by Steve Witkoff?

Save The West can only guess:

1) Witkoff was so eager to close a deal by January 19 to please his boss that he felt that he had to pressure US ally Israel rather than the unrelenting radical Islamic US enemy Hamas and its financial supporters, Qatar and Iran.

2) Witkoff did not properly consider the ramifications of the deal to US long-term foreign policy.

3) The full Trump national security team was focused on confirmation hearings in the Senate and could not focus adequately on this issue.

4) The staff surrounding Trump wanted to please his determination to “end the war”. Moreover, they didn’t have the courage to question the mistakes of his overzealous negotiator.

5) The happy prospects of facilitating the joyous release of these hostages very early in President Trump’s new term clouded the vision of his staff, who worked so hard to get him re-elected.

6) Witkoff had close financial dealings with Qatar and clearly overlooked Qatar’s financing of the global Muslim Brotherhood, which spreads anti-Christian and antisemitic propaganda through the al Jazeera propaganda TV outlet.

7) Having no real knowledge of the Middle East, but with financial links to Qatar, Witkoff did not understand that this deal re-invigorates the radical Islamic enemies of America (Iran and its proxies, as well as its proxies, Qatar and Turkey) in their quest to take over the Middle East and then the World.

8) Witkoff was apparently unaware that he was not ending the Israel war with Hamas/Iran, but turning it into an endless war, in violation of the Trump Doctrine to end “forever wars”.

9) Witkoff also abandoned the Trump Doctrine of “peace through strength”. Instead, he adopted the Democrat notion of peace through appeasement, which always leads to war.

10) Witkoff abandoned the Trump Doctrine of “America First.” Instead, he opted for Biden-Democratic policy of choosing Qatar and Hamas First. But the majority of Americans voted out the disgraced Democrat Pro-Communists/Islamists and their false narratives.

11) Witkoff ignored the Trump doctrine of “winning so often, that we will get tired of winning.”

12) Witkoff ignored the Trump doctrine of not overpaying for hostages.

13) Witkoff impaired the future success of the potential Abraham Accords expansion by appearing so weak and abandoning America’s only true ally in the Middle East.

14) WitKoff is facilitating the return of Gaza to Hamas, thereby forcing the residents of Gaza to live forever under the brutal rule of the Hamas Muslim Brotherhood Death Cult, instead of gaining some semblance of freedom under Israeli rule or, perhaps, the rule of Saudi Arabia and/or the UAE. We guess that the silent majority of American Muslim voters will be very disappointed by the prospect of such ongoing cruelty against their brethren.

So, how can the new Trump Administration recover from this major strategic blunder after the limited positive short-term glow of the hostage release fades? This hostage fiasco will cause allies to distrust the new Administration and enemies to not fear it.

1) Fire Steve Witkoff immediately, to set an example for future diplomats who ignore the noble aspects of the America First Trump Doctrine.

2) Review the vetting process to find out why Witkoff’s conflict of interest with Qatar was not detected. And why was he granted a National Security clearance?

3) Appoint a senior leader for a new Department of Policy Co-ordination (DOPC) so that rogue and incompetent appointees cannot subvert the Trump Doctrine.

4) Immediately purge all national security appointees who have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood (Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan) or Iran and its domestic sympathizers.

The new highly competent National Security team will now have lots of extra work to do to re-establish American national security credibility and the Trump Doctrine of America First. Let’s make America Great and Powerful Again!

With the recent passing of former president Jimmy Carter, the time has come to consider the mixed legacy he has left behind. Although remembered for pursuing and signing the Camp David Accords, which facilitated the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state, this merely scratches the surface of his Mideast legacy.

Upon closer reflection, Carter’s actions after his presidency caused substantial harm to Israel and fostered a hostile narrative about the Israeli-Palestinian war whose pernicious effects continue to be felt.

Settlements and the push for a Palestinian state

Carter’s presidency was marked by intense conflict with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin over Israel’s settlement activities in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip.

Carter’s adamant demand to reserve these territories for a Palestinian state clashed with Israel’s strategic interests, causing a rift that influences US-Israeli relations to this day, Carter championed a narrative that positioned Israel as an aggressor.

Carter’s relentless push for a Palestinian state was a cornerstone of his foreign policy, especially after he left the presidency.

Post-presidential advocacy and criticism

Carter’s criticism of Israel grew sharper after his presidency. He repeatedly blamed Israel for the ongoing war, ignoring the complexities and the intransigence of Palestinian leaders. Carter’s belief that he could single-handedly mediate peace reflected a fundamental misunderstanding of the region’s realities.

Wngaging with terrorists and spreading misinformation

Carter’s interactions with Hamas leaders, such as Khaled Meshaal and Ismail Haniyeh (killed this past year by the IDF following the Hamas massacre of October 7, 2023), represented some of the most disturbing aspects of Carter’s post-presidential efforts.

By portraying Hamas as a legitimate peace partner, Carter lent undeserved legitimacy to a terror organization committed to Israel’s decimation.

Carter’s consistent baseless claim that Hamas was interested in peace undermined international efforts to isolate the group.

Carter’s ultimate naivete was on full display in his role as the US observer and facilitator of the January 1996 elections that established Yasser Arafat as the “democratically elected” leader of the Palestinian Arab people. Although Carter liked to take credit for the “democratic” nature of the PA elections in numerous articles and speeches, this couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Covering the PA elections which Carter oversaw in 1996, I asked him about the allegation that Arafat had blown up the home of
his electoral opponent.

Carter only responded with a chuckle and said, “We have problems like that in Chicago, too.”

The most unkindly cut of all occurred during the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas, when he was called to remove Hamas from the US list of terrorist organizations.

His disproportionate criticism of Israel, coupled with a lack of condemnation for Hamas’s terrorist activities, highlighted his bias and alienated him from the mainstream Jewish community.

Apartheid label

Carter’s 2006 book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, equated Israeli policies with apartheid, a grossly inaccurate and damaging comparison.

The book’s portrayal of Israel as the ultimate obstacle to peace ignored the consistent rejection by Palestinian leaders of any peace offers. Carter’s refusal to acknowledge these rejections transformed the former president into a purveyor of harmful misinformation that continues to haunt Israel’s international standing.

Antisemitic stereotypes

-Carter’s rhetoric often veered into antisemitism, as seen in his comments about Jewish
influence over US politics and media. These statements, which echoed dangerous stereotypes, drew widespread condemnation.

By framing Jewish criticism of his book as an orchestrated attack, Jimmy Carter’s legacy is one of significant harm and is detrimental to Israel’s security and its relationship with the United States.

By legitimizing terrorist groups and perpetuating a damaging narrative, Carter will be remembered as the first critic of Israel to pin the indelible apartheid label on the Jewish state, distracting Middle East observers from Carter’s accomplishment as the facilitator of the 1979 Camp David Peace Accord.

The disastrous ceasefire deal proposed by the Biden administration and rubber stamped by Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, doesn’t just free thousands of Islamic terrorists while letting Hamas reclaim power, it also commits America to a 5-year rebuilding of Gaza.

If the Trump administration backs the deal, it will be forced to act as a ‘guarantor’ which will not only mean protecting Hamas, but an extended terrorist nation-building program bigger even than Iraq or Afghanistan. Phase 3 of the deal reportedly calls for a 3-5 year rebuilding program.

That timetable would have President Trump spend his whole second term rebuilding Gaza.

And the UN’s actual numbers are far worse. The UN Development Program is estimating $50 billion in costs to rebuild Gaza by 2040. Since the UN is not known for bringing in projects on time, it’s entirely possible that nation-building Gaza would cost even more and last indefinitely.

This would not have been the deal that a Trump administration national security team would have signed on to, but unfortunately President-elect Trump’s envoy Witkoff (pictured above) went along with the Biden deal. Witkoff worked with Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Middle East adviser Brett McGurk to make the United States a ‘guarantor’ of a bad plan that includes an “interim force” to police Gaza, extended “reconstruction” and a “technocratic” unity government acting as a front for the Hamas and the PLO terrorists as part of a unity deal formed in Beijing under China.

This is nation-building. And it may be the single worst example of it. Even worse than Iraq.

There was some remote possibility that Afghanistan and Iraq could work out, there is zero chance of nation-building in Gaza and the West Bank leading to anything except terrorism, billions of dollars in foreign aid, more dead Americans and another war in the region.

Nation-building and endless war are the opposite of the foreign policy that Trump ran on.

The good news is that the Trump administration can pull out of this terrible Biden deal. And if he pulls out before Phase 3, America won’t be stuck doing more terrorist nation-building in Gaza.

“We’ve made it very clear to the Israelis, and I want the people of Israel to hear me on this—if they need to go back in, we’re with them. If Hamas doesn’t live up to the terms of this agreement, we are with them,” Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz vowed.

Since Hamas and the PLO have made it clear that the terrorist attacks will continue until Israel is destroyed, the Trump administration has a very simple exit strategy from Phase 3.

All it has to do is, as National Security Adviser Walz said, let Israel go back to fighting once the hostages are free and the terrorists break the ceasefire. And that will abort the reconstruction.

If the Trump administration recognizes that the terrorists broke the ceasefire, then it’s over.

However, if the Trump administration pressures Israel to accept ceasefire violations by Islamic terrorists in Gaza without fighting back, as it is reportedly doing with Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, not only Israel, but America will be stuck with endless nation-building in Gaza.

And that will be a disaster.

The Biden ceasefire deal isn’t just a trap for Israel, it traps the Trump administration into the same old failed nation-building programs in the Middle East that have failed under Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden. In his first term, President Trump broke from 30 years of failed policies and oversaw the rise of a new pro-American alliance by dropping ‘Palestinian’ nation-building.

That legacy is now threatened by the Biden ceasefire deal which puts America back in the business of nation-building a terrorist state in Gaza and the West Bank, which drags us into a UN process in which billions of dollars will fall into the hands of terrorists and the alliances that his first term worked so hard to build up will be torn apart by disputes over the ‘Palestinians’.

Every time an administration gets into the business of ‘Palestinian’ nation-building, it comes away with nothing. That’s because the entire ‘Palestinian’ cause was invented by the USSR to undermine America and Israel, to spread terrorism, and to cause new wars. Trying to build a ‘Palestinian’ nation is even more doomed than trying to nation-build in Afghanistan.

Gaza is an even worse version of Afghanistan. And Phase 3 of the Biden ceasefire deal puts us right back to nation-building in another Islamic terrorist war zone.

That’s why it’s urgent that Phase 3 should not be allowed to happen.

Phase 3 is Afghanistan and Iraq all over again. Phase 3 is a trap for President Trump. Getting out of Phase 3 will determine if the Trump administration foreign policy succeeds.

The Trump administration should exit the Biden ceasefire deal as soon as possible. The sooner it gets out, the less likely Phase 3 will be to trap us into nation-building in Gaza. And the less likely it is we will have to send soldiers to join an “interim force” to police Gaza or send billions of dollars to ‘rebuild’ Gaza so that Hamas can start another war so we can rebuild it yet again.

This is not what Trump ran on. It’s not what Americans voted for. It’s not what they want.

People should not assume that it’s a done deal once it has been initiated. While the early phases are the most dangerous for Israelis because they lead to the mass release of Islamic terrorists and the Hamas takeover of Gaza, Phase 3 is the most dangerous for America.

The Trump administration needs to be out of the deal long before Phase 3. And the longer we stay in, the more commitments our negotiators will make and the harder it will be to get out.

Americans should not be complacent about assuming that the administration will pull the plug before Phase 3. Much will depend on whom President Trump is hearing from about the deal. Even once the deal is underway, it’s urgent to keep speaking out against nation-building in Gaza. Not one dollar or American life should be sacrificed for nation-building in Gaza.

America needs to rebuild itself, not Gaza. It needs to police its own streets, not Gaza streets. In his first year in office, President Trump vowed, we are “not nation-building again; we are killing terrorists.” America needs to stop nation-building in Gaza and start letting Israel kill terrorists.