KENNEDY'S TAKE ON TRUMP'S CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESS

Is 'Pocahontas' Warren on the warpath? KENNEDY's hilarious rant on the Dems so blinded by hatred of Trump...that they've gone utterly mad

 

By Kennedy

 

Daily Mail

Mar 5, 2025 

Americans have grown addicted to political theater and President Donald Trump 's speech to Congress (pictured) scratched that itch... and then some.

 

Make Joint Addresses Great Again!

Americans have grown addicted to political theater and President Donald Trump's speech to Congress on Tuesday scratched that itch... and then some.

I hadn't been that entertained by a president since Joe Biden gnawed off a baby foot on Halloween. 

 

I hadn't been that entertained by a president since Joe Biden gnawed off a baby foot on Halloween (pictured). 

 

But, on Tuesday, it was donkey on the menu.

Forty-seven strode valiantly to the House rostrum really feeling himself and ready to do battle in the ongoing culture war. Little did he know that his opponents would simply just drop their guard. The Left's pushback was more confused than a Kamala Harris word salad.

First, crusty impeachment enthusiast, Texas Rep. Al Green, stood and shouted and waved his gold-handled cane at the president. When he ignored Speaker Mike Johnson's warning to pipe down, he was booted out.

'Who the heck is producing this thing?' I thought. 'WWE co-founder-turned-Education-Secretary Linda McMahon?'

And folks, we were just getting warmed up.

 

Senator Pocahontas clapped like a harbor seal on speed when Trump lamented about billions in taxpayer money that Biden sent to Ukraine.

Some Dems wore yellow and blue in support of Ukraine. Others wore black, perhaps in mourning for their political careers.

The Democratic Women's Caucus cleverly cloaked themselves in pink as some sort of protest but ended up looking like discarded wads of bubblegum stuck to the seats from which they refused to budge. And while these electoral losers sat looking like they'd just been forced to drink curdled milk Trump called them out for it.

'I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud,' he said. 'I could find a cure to the most devastating disease… or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history or the stoppage of crime… and these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand and certainly will not cheer.'

At the very least, they could have perked up when Trump announced that DOGE daddy Elon Musk had discovered jaw-dropping numbers of Americans listed as alive by the Social Security Administration despite being more than 130 years old. Believe it or not, Trump said, that government databases even listed one recipients as older than the United States of America itself.

'So, what?' grumbled Joe Biden from Delaware. 'He's a spring chicken.'

 

 

And when Trump cited 130,000 Social Security recipients over 160 years-old the president had one of the lines of the night, turning to Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. and joking, 'We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby!'

It's funny because there's only one thing that the Left hates more than rooting out waste, fraud and abuse – a Kennedy who refuses to carry their water.

Meanwhile, Hamas-adjacent Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was very busy scribbling dimwitted phrases on whiteboard that she held up for the cameras to see.

It read 'Start paying your taxes' and 'Stopping lying to the American people.' I half expected her to write 'Any spare change?'

The most telling moment of the night came when Trump announced that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy had sent him a box of chocolate and flowers to apologize for their bad date on Friday. Apparently, Zelenskyy is finally ready to make a commitment... to peace.

 

Crusty impeachment enthusiast, Texas Rep. Al Green (pictured), stood and shouted and waved his gold-handled cane at the president.

The Democratic Women's Caucus cleverly cloaked themselves in pink as some sort of protest but ended up looking like discarded wads of bubblegum stuck to the seats that they refused to budge from. 

Hamas-adjacent Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was very busy scribbling dimwitted phrases on whiteboard that she held up for the cameras to see. 

 

But, for some utterly bizarre reason, progressive, race-faker Senator Elizabeth Warren began to applaud like harbor seal on speed when Trump lamented about billions in taxpayer money that Biden sent to Ukraine.

'Do you want to keep [the Ukraine-Russia war] going for another 5 years?' Trump asked Loony Liz. 'Pocahontas says 'Yes!'

Indeed, Warren's political principles seem as sincere as her genealogy.

Weren't the Democrats once the party of peaceniks? I supposed they were also once the party of workingman.

Boy, do times change.

But my laughter turned to anger – the best drug of all – when these silly Dems with paddles bearing slogans like 'Save Medicaid' and 'Musk Steals,' sat on their hands brazenly snubbing the families of murder victims slaughtered by illegal immigrant criminals.

It was painful to watch as the mother and sister of murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley stood for the kind of recognition no family ever asks for.

Laken was killed by illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra while she out on a morning jog near her Georgia college campus in February 2024. Ibarra had been arrested and released by multiple federal and state agencies in the months before committing his senseless crime. He was an associate of the Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, that is now terrorizing US cities. Thanks, Joe.

Twelve-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was also killed by Tren gangbangers. Her mother was in the audience on Tuesday as Trump – ever the showman – re-named a 34,000-acre wildlife preserve in Jocelyn's honor.

Teary eyed Republicans rose in applause.

 

It was painful to watch as the mother and sister of murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley (pictured) stood for the kind of recognition no family ever asks for.

 

But from the heartless Democrat-side of the aisle there was nothing but frowny faces and crickets.

For the truth is that aside from their childish antics, they have nothing left.

The once powerful matriarch of the House Nancy Pelosi simply glared at Trump chewing on her dental work, like someone who should've already been put to bed after her serving of Jello.

Stripped by the voters of a majority in the House, there would be no remarks for the former Speaker to dramatically rip to shreds. Neutered by audiences, who left in search of something more reliable, the Left's slavish media enablers are now just shrieking into the void.

This is the new normal in America. The Orange Man in the driver's seat boldly proclaimed to his seething haters, 'Every day we will stand up, and we will fight, fight, fight, for the country our citizens believe in and for the country our people deserve.'

'Get ready for an incredible future,' the President said, 'because the golden age of America has just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before.'

If it's anything like last night's joint address, it'll be a hell of a ride.

DEATH TO HAMAS?

Trump tells Hamas 'You are DEAD' as he warns terror group 'I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job' in Gaza

 

By Geoff Earle 

Daily Mail

Mar 5, 2025

 

President Donald Trump Trump issued a dire warning to Hamas amid talks to bring home an American hostage and bodies of the deceased

 

President Donald Trump has put out another dire threat to Hamas, after the White House confirmed direct talks with the group as part an of an effort to finally secure the release of hostages and bodies of the deceased. 

'"Shalom Hamas" means Hello and Goodbye - You can choose. Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.

'Only sick and twisted people keep bodies, and you are sick and twisted! I am sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, not a single Hamas member will be safe if you don't do as I say. 

'I have just met with your former Hostages whose lives you have destroyed. This is your last warning!'

Trump also told leadership of the terror group to leave Gaza 'now [...] while you still have a chance'.

He added: 'Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!'

Trump issued similar warnings last month, saying there would be 'all hell' to pay if the group, which the U.S. government classified as a terrorist organization, did not send home hostages. 

Trump's angry threat came hours after a report that the administration was conducting secret talks with Hamas in an effort to release American hostages seized during the bloody October 7 terror attack on Israel. 

 

Pictured above is Donald Trump's Truth Social post warning Hamas to release all hostages or 'it is over for you'

An aerial view of Palestinians shopping at a market set up among the rubble in Jabalia Refugee Camp, northern Gaza, during the holy month of Ramadan on March 05, 2025 

 

The White House said U.S. hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler had the authority to talk directly with Hamas, despite longstanding policy against negotiating with designated terrorist organizations. 

The two sides met in Doha, where prior cease fire and hostage talks had occurred, gut not directly between the parties. U.S. and Israeli negotiators had negotiated instead through third party Arab leaders. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed those talks when asked about them.

'First of all, the special envoy who engaged in this negotiation does have the authority to talk to anyone. Israel was consulted on this matter,' Leavitt said. 

'And look – dialog and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people, is something that the American people.' 

She wouldn't answer directly when asked if the talks also related to Trump's stated plan to rebuild and take over Gaza in a plan critics have called Gaza-lago.

'These are ongoing talks and discussions. I'm not going to detail them here, that are American lines at stake.'

On February 11, Trump warned 'all hell is going to break loose' if the group did not release all remaining hostages that week. 

 

Hamas fighters escort Israeli hostage Or Levy on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on February 8, 2025, as part of the fifth hostage-prisoner exchange of a fragile ceasefire

Eli Sharabi (pictured) was freed on Saturday, February 8, after spending nearly 500 days in captivity. His gaunt appearance when he was released sparked concern that the 54-year-old had been mistreated or even tortured by Hamas

Crowds of Hamas fighters and civilians watch on as the coffin of one of the hostages is carried to a waiting Red Cross vehicle on February 20

 

In response, a Hamas spokesman lashed out at the US President and said there was no place 'for the language of threats'.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior spokesperson for the terror group known for its tight stranglehold over the Gaza Strip, boldly claimed Trump's comments did nothing but make negotiations for the end of the war harder.  

'The language of threats has no value and further complicates matters,' Zuhri remarked.

He added that Trump needed to 'remember that there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties and this is the only way to return the prisoners'. 

A few days later, Hamas released American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36 and two other hostages. 

Edan Alexander of Tenafly, New Jersey, is thought to be the last living American hostage, in an ordeal that has extended beyond 500 days. 

He appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in November 2024. Israel says four other American hostages died in captivity.

Israel says 24 living hostages remain, along with the bodies of 35 others. 

 

Hamas posted a harrowing video showing weeping American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander

Edan Alexander (pictured) of Tenafly, New Jersey, is thought to be the last living American hostage, in an ordeal that has extended beyond 500 days 

Varda Ben Baruch, whose grandson Edan Alexander is held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants, poses for a portrait at home in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 14, 2024

Trump met with released hostages at the White House Wednesday

 

The threats come days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked 'emergency authority' to send an additional $4 billion in security assistance to Israel.

Trump also met with hostages released from captivity on Wednesday.

'Today, President Trump took time to meet with eight of the released hostages from Gaza,' Leavitt said. 

'The President listened intently to their heartbreaking stories. The hostages thanked President Trump for his steadfast efforts to bring all of the hostages home.'

They were Iair Horn, Omer Shem Tov, Eli Sharabi, Keith Siegel, Aviva Siegel, Naama Levy, Doron Steinbrecher, and Noa Argamani.

This comes after Trump promoted a controversial vision for what his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended. 

The President laid out an extraordinary plan at a press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, stating: 'The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too.' 

Trump's proposal was met with global criticism by both lawmakers and analysts who fear the plan would forcibly displace Gaza's population of two million, while US critics wondered if the President's vision would plunge the nation into the potentially bloody role of occupying power.

 

The President is seen enjoying the company of a non-bearded belly dancer in a restaurant with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling

Donald Trump has offered an AI-created vision for what his 'Riviera of the Middle East' plan for the Gaza Strip could look like when the war between Israel and Hamas has ended

 

Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert who advised secretaries of state across multiple administrations of both parties, said the immediate reaction among global lawmakers and leaders across the region was one of 'revulsion'.

But on February 25, Trump seemed to further promote the plan by posting a 35-second video to his Truth Social account that began with the question: 'Gaza 2025: What's Next?' It is unclear who created the video.

The AI-generated video - in a series of bold, gaudy images - shows a Trump hotel, a giant golden statue of Trump, and a child holding a Trump balloon among resplendent beach-front resort complexes.

'First Buddy' Elon Musk is seen tossing around cash to visitors and children, while Trump dances with a belly dancer and drinks cocktails with Netanyahu. 

The video has created uproar online with X users quickly branding it as 'absolutely horrifying' and 'filth on a world stage', while others argued that it is time for people to 'start taking Trump's plan for Gaza more seriously'.

The White House responded to the criticism in a statement to DailyMail.com: 'As President Trump has said, Gaza in its current state is unhabitable for any human being. 

'President Trump is a visionary, and his plan to have the United States involved in Gaza's rebuilding will allow for Palestinians to resettle in new, beautiful communities while improving conditions in the region for generations to come.'

HOW WILL AMERICA BE ABLE TO SURVIVE IF ABBAS CUTS TIES WITH THE US?

Abbas confidant: If Trump advances Gaza ‘expulsion’ plan, PA will cut ties with US

Ahmad Majdalani says Ramallah wants to turn page with Washington after bitter first term, is maintaining contacts because it doesn’t see president’s proposal being implemented

By Jacob Magid

 

The Times of Israel

Mar 5, 2025

 

 

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas threatens to cut ties with US

 

RAMALLAH, West Bank — A senior Palestinian official and confidant to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas says that the PA will cut ties with the US if President Donald Trump advances his proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate all of its residents.

In an interview with The Times of Israel from his Ramallah office last week, Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Council member Ahmed Majdalani said implementation of Trump’s proposal would amount to the “expulsion” of Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents, thereby posing an “existential threat” to the Palestinian cause.

Pressed repeatedly as to whether such fervent opposition to the proposal meant the PA was prepared to sever ties with Washington again, Majdalani’s response was the same each time: “Of course.”

“Why would we have ties if Mr. Trump sticks to this proposal?” he said.

The longtime PA minister clarified that Ramallah is prepared to work with Trump if he abandons the idea. He also pointed to comments from top aides to the US president who have softened the proposal and suggested they would be open to shelving it if Arab allies came up with an alternative plan for the post-war management of Gaza that removed Hamas from power.

But the plan unveiled on Tuesday didn’t explicitly address this concern, and the White House quickly came out against it, saying it was sticking with Trump’s original proposal.

“We have been listening to Mr. Trump’s advisers who have explicitly said that this is just a proposal — not an obligatory plan of action,” said Majdalani in a rare on-record interview with Israeli media by a Palestinian official.

Still, the fact that he was willing to even entertain publicly the idea of ending ties with the US, just over a month into Trump’s second tenure, highlighted how alarmed Ramallah was by the president’s talk of taking over Gaza.

 

Palestinian Authority Social Welfare Minister Ahmed Majdalani. 

 

Trying a different approach

The PA gradually cut ties with the US during Trump’s first term, when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and proposed a peace plan that envisioned Israel annexing all of its settlements, while offering the Palestinians only limited sovereignty over the semi-contiguous West Bank land that would remain.

But two senior Palestinian officials who spoke to The Times of Israel ahead of Trump’s return to the White House said Ramallah would take a different approach during his second term, acknowledging that the lack of engagement with Washington led the US to bypass Ramallah completely as it brokered the Abraham Accords normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries.

Abbas restored ties with Trump, sending him a letter wishing him well after the then-GOP presidential nominee survived an attempt on his life last summer. Days after Trump was re-elected, the two then held what interlocutors described as a “warm” call — their first since 2017 — during which the president-elect pledged to end the war in Gaza.

Two months later, Trump played an essential role in securing the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas that is still holding to date, albeit barely.

Accordingly, Majdalani said Ramallah was caught off guard when Trump weeks later announced his proposal for the US to “own” Gaza and “permanently” relocate all of its residents.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and US President Donald Trump (R) speak during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on February 4, 2025. 

 

‘Deal of the Century’ flashbacks

Majdalani is one of the closest aides to Abbas, who has appointed him to a string of ministerial posts over the past 20 years. Last month, the PA president tapped him to head a fund that will be responsible for a highly sensitive reform to end controversial stipends to Palestinian security prisoners based on the length of their sentences.

Notably, despite how unpopular it was among Palestinians, Abbas signed the decree enacting that reform days after Trump announced his Gaza takeover idea.

Trump’s proposal was unveiled in a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who immediately welcomed the idea. Majdalani said this was because it fits with what he said is the premier’s effort to annex large parts of the West Bank, thereby destroying the PA and the effort for Palestinian statehood with it.

 

Palestinians live among the rubble of their homes, which were destroyed in the war between Israel and Hamas, in the city of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 23, 2025. 

 

Majdalani noted that the Arab world has similarly rejected the US proposal, with Egypt and Jordan viewing Trump’s calls for them to take in Palestinians from Gaza as “existential threats” to their national security.

Trump’s idea “is not the right way to achieve stability and peace and security in the region,” he asserted.

The PA rejected Trump’s 2020 peace plan with similar fervor and refused to discuss the initiative with Washington both before and after its rollout.

The plan was largely shelved within months, while Washington pursued the Abraham Accords. Trump’s aides hinted that it could resurface in his second term, but the president refrained from standing by it when asked last month.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump during an event with in the East Room of the White House in Washington on January 28, 2020. 

 

‘No normalization with expulsion’

Explaining the decision to re-engage with Trump after a first term that saw the US cut all aid to the Palestinians and shutter their diplomatic missions in Washington and Jerusalem, Majdalani explained that Ramallah is “acting according to the political reality.”

During their November call, “President Abbas expressed a willingness to cooperate with President Trump and his new administration,” said the senior member and faction leader within the PLO — the international umbrella body representing Palestinians, which is also dominated by Abbas.

“We are ready today and tomorrow to positively cooperate with Mr. Trump and his administration, if he renounces and forgets his idea about taking over Gaza and expelling of its residents en masse,” Majdalani said.

That readiness would dissipate completely if the US actually moved forward with the idea. “We will defend our principles and our interests,” he asserted.

Pressed again on why the PA has maintained contacts with Washington, given that Trump has yet to back away from his Gaza takeover pitch, Majdalani said that the US has not actually begun implementing it, calling it “a proposal — not a plan.”

 

A man hoists a sign reading ‘No to Displacement’ at a demonstration against US President Donald Trump’s plan to takeover the Gaza Strip, outside the Egyptian side of Gaza’s Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt, January 31, 2025. 

 

Trump has defended his idea, saying that Gaza is an uninhabitable “demolition site.”

“The question Mr. Trump should be asking is, ‘Who destroyed Gaza and made it uninhabitable?'” Majdalani said, referring to Israel’s 15-plus month bombardment of Gaza aimed at dismantling Hamas after the October 7 onslaught.

“The problem is not the existence of Palestinians in Gaza. The problem is the existence of the Israel occupation in Gaza. So the goal should be to remove the occupation, not the Palestinians,” he said, asserting that only a two-state solution will provide security and stability for Israel and the region.

“If [Trump] thinks that there will be regional peace with Israeli normalization alongside the mass expulsion of Gaza’s residents and the annexation of the West Bank, he is wrong,” Majdalani said.

 

Demonstrators gather outside the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on January 31, 2025, to protest against a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to move Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt and Jordan. 

 

Asked whether the PA could accept the relocation of Gazans if it was done temporarily and not by force, Majdalani rejected the premise.

“There is no such thing as voluntary emigration… in more accurate terms, it’s ethnic reasoning,” he continued. “For us, it is not acceptable to move the residents of Gaza — not temporarily and not permanently.”

“Gaza is not for sale in the first place. It is part of the Palestinian homeland… and the Palestinians in Gaza will remain on their homeland.”

The other half of the interview with Majdalani about the PA’s recent reform of its controversial prisoner payment policy was published on Tuesday.

ISRAEL WAS AWARE OF THE DIRECT TALKS BETWEEN THE US AND HAMAS

Israel outraged over direct Trump-Hamas talks

Jerusalem is expressing dissatisfaction with the secret channel opened by the Trump administration with the terrorist organization Hamas in an effort to secure the release of hostages holding American citizenship. "This is a very problematic move, to say the least," a senior Israeli official said.

 

By Ariel Kahana and Shachar Kleiman  

 

Israel Hayom

Mar 5, 2025

 

President Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirms US in direct talks with Hamas over hostages

 

Shock and disappointment in Israel over the direct talks held by the Trump administration with Hamas, aimed at securing the release of American citizens held hostage. An Israeli official familiar with the details told Israel Hayom that "this is a very problematic move, to say the least." While Israel was aware of the secret channel, officials are deeply unhappy about its existence. 

So far, the talks led by Adam Boehler, Trump's envoy for the rescue of American hostages worldwide, with Hamas representatives in Qatar have yielded no results. The existence of these talks was first revealed by journalist Barak Ravid. According to the report, which was confirmed by Israeli sources and not denied by the White House, Boehler held several meetings in Doha with Hamas representatives in recent weeks.

 

Adam Boehler is Trump's envoy for the rescue of American hostages

 

Meanwhile, as newly appointed IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir takes office, Israel is preparing for a possible renewal of fighting in Gaza amid the ongoing deadlock in negotiations with Hamas. The political leadership has not yet made a decision to resume hostilities, and the next cabinet meeting has been scheduled for Sunday. It is also unclear when American envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading the hostage release efforts on Trump's behalf, will arrive in the region.

 

 

IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir

 

At the same time, a Hamas source told the Saudi outlet Al Arabiya that representatives of the terrorist organization met directly with Trump's hostage affairs envoy. According to the source, the talks focused on the issue of the American hostages and began several weeks ago.

Israel's Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, told Fox Business that "President Trump's administration fundamentally changed its approach to Hamas. Instead of putting pressure on Israel, they are pressuring Hamas. We would all be happy to see the hostages return and reunite with their families, in their homes and in their homeland. If this happens as a result of the direct talks between the US and Hamas, we would welcome it."

GOD BLESS AMERICA'S EVANGELICAL LEADERS

Christians urge Jews to seize sovereignty over Judea and Samaria

Now is the time, with the Trump administration’s backing, for Israel to reclaim its biblical heartland, say American Evangelical leaders.

 

By Ryan Jones 

 

Israel Today

Mar 5, 2025

 

Jewish youth hold Israeli flags on a hilltop in the biblical heartland near Nablus

 

A group of American Evangelical Christian leaders this week signed a declaration in which they urge Israel to assert full sovereignty over the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria (what the world called the “West Bank”), and for the Trump administration to support this move.

The declaration is an initiative of the umbrella organization American Christian Leaders for Israel (ACLI), which unites dozens of Israel-loving Christian organizations and ministries representing tens of millions of Christians.

The declaration, which was ratified at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) convention in Dallas, labels the two-state solution a failed experiment

In addition to detailing the profound biblical significance of Judea and Samaria, the declaration points out that the October 7, 2023 terrorist invasion of Israel and the situation in Gaza had demonstrably demonstrated that a Palestinian state is not a viable solution to the conflict.

Explained ACLI Director Dr. Susan Michael:

“It is not a solution. It is an illusion. Gaza was essentially a Palestinian state and look at what it produced. Why does the Western world continue to push Israel to give up territory for a Palestinian state? Gaza proved it will not work. We’ve been quiet for a while on this issue, but now is the moment to speak up—and with this administration. All we’re asking is that the powers of the world stop pressuring Israel to give up Judea and Samaria.”

ACLI is a project of the USA Branch of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. ICEJ Senior Vice President David Parsons added:

“The time is right for a new approach in which we as Christians join with the people of Israel and encourage them to reassert their sovereignty, their claim and superior title to Judea and Samaria.”

Citing the Balfour Declaration, the San Remo Conference, and the League of Nations mandate, Parsons noted that historically, the international community “recognized that the Jewish people held that claim. They didn’t create some new right or claim for the Jewish people in the land–they recognized that the Jews had a historic, spiritual, and legal connection to this land that was preexisting.”

As such, explained Parsons, the Christians aren’t encouraging Israel to annex Judea and Samaria, because “as a legal principle, you cannot annex something that you already own.”

After signing the declaration, ACLI sent it to President Donald Trump.

Trump promised back in February that he would soon make clear his position on the future of Judea and Samaria, and thus on the issue of a “Palestinian state.” The ACLI hopes to influence that position by taking a clear stand on who controls Judea and Samaria. Bible-believing Christians have so far played a major role in shaping the policies of this and the previous Trump administration, and that is particularly true in regard to support for Israel.

It should be noted that while a majority of Israeli Jews today oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, a large portion of Israelis still reject the notion of directly ruling over the large Arab population in Judea and Samaria. Though the events of Oct. 7, 2023 have pushed most Israelis in that direction. Polls consistently show that the Gaza invasion of southern Israel convinced most Israelis of what the ACLI leadership stated in its declaration: A Palestinian state is no solution. It’s suicide.

A survey conducted in late January found that nearly 70% of Israelis today support extending sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.

Two weeks ago, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana insisted that full control over the territory was the “one and only way” to achieve peace in the region.

“These biblical, original parts of our land, which in the Bible tells the story of our people, are intended for us, for the people of Israel, need to be in the territory of the State of Israel, under the ownership of Israel, under full Israeli sovereignty,” said Ohana, a lawmaker for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, during a visit to northern Samaria.

“Today, this thing is clearer than ever,” Ohana added. “On the 7th of October, not only Israeli citizens were murdered but also the idea that was mistakenly called ‘the two-state solution.’”

EGYPT'S PLAN SHOULD BE A NON-STARTER

Israel, US reject Egypt’s Gaza plan, Hamas welcomes it

An Arab League summit in Cairo on Tuesday endorsed the $53 billion five-year plan for the war-torn coastal enclave. 

 

By Joshua Marks 

 

JNS

Mar 5, 2025

 

 

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi (center) with Arab heads of state and government attending the Arab Crisis Summit in the new administrative capital east of Cairo, Egypt, on March 4, 2025.

 

Israel and the United States have rejected an Egyptian plan for Gaza’s reconstruction endorsed by an Arab League summit in Cairo on Tuesday, while the Hamas terrorist group welcomed the proposal.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry sharply criticized the statement issued at the Emergency Summit of the Extraordinary Arab Summit, accusing it of ignoring the realities on the ground following Hamas’ brutal attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

“The statement remains rooted in outdated perspectives,” the ministry said, adding that it “fails to mention Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack, which resulted in thousands of Israeli deaths and hundreds of kidnappings.” Israel also condemned the summit for its failure to denounce Hamas explicitly.

The ministry took aim at continued reliance on the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), organizations it accused of corruption, support for terrorism and failure to resolve the longstanding conflict.

“For 77 years, Arab states have used Palestinians as pawns against Israel, condemning them to eternal ‘refugee’ status,” the statement read.

Israel also referenced recent proposals that could offer Gazans a new future, including ideas promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump. “There is an opportunity for the Gazans to have free choice based on their free will. This should be encouraged!” the ministry stated. Instead, it accused Arab states of rejecting this opportunity outright while continuing to level “baseless accusations” against Israel.

The statement warned that Hamas’s actions have destabilized the region and that leaving the group in power would prevent any chance of lasting security. “For the sake of peace and stability, Hamas can’t be left in power,” the ministry said.

Israel called on regional actors to move beyond past constraints and work together toward a secure and stable future. “We urge regional states to collaborate in creating a future of stability and security in the region,” the statement concluded.

White House: “Uninhabitable reality ignored”

The White House said that Cairo’s Gaza reconstruction plan does not address the current harsh realities on the ground.

“The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is uninhabitable, and its residents cannot live there humanely when it is covered in rubble and unexploded bombs,” said Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the National Security Council.

 

Gaza is uninhabitable, and its residents cannot live there humanely when it is covered in rubble and unexploded bombs

 

Hughes also reaffirmed Trump’s stance on Gaza’s future, stating, “President Trump stands behind his vision to rebuild Gaza without Hamas.” Despite the rejection of the plan, he emphasized that the United States remains open to “continuing talks” on the issue.

The White House’s position underscores what the U.S. administration sees as the critical need for a new approach to rebuilding Gaza, one that reflects the current conditions and ensures the safety and stability of the region.

Trump’s proposal involves resettling Gaza’s residents during the enclave’s reconstruction into a global economic hub.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump’s Gaza plan on Monday, calling it “visionary and innovative” in a message thanking the president for his support during the Gaza war.

Hamas welcomes Egyptian plan

Hamas expressed support on Tuesday for the Egyptian plan, which would establish a committee to oversee rebuilding efforts and governance in the war-torn region.

 

  

Hamas terrorists release the bodies of four late Israeli hostages to the Red Cross in Khan Yunis, Feb. 20, 2025. 

 

In a statement, the Palestinian terrorist group said, “We welcome the Gaza reconstruction plan adopted in the summit’s final statement and call for ensuring all necessary resources for its success.” They also voiced their backing for the creation of a “Community Support Committee” which would oversee relief efforts, reconstruction and governance in Gaza, as outlined in the temporary administrative body proposed by the Arab League summit in Cairo.

EU, UN back the Egyptian plan

At the Cairo summit, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed strong support for the Arab-led initiative, stating, “I strongly endorse this plan. The U.N. stands ready to fully cooperate in this endeavor.”

E.U. Council President Antonio Costa also praised the plans presented by Egypt and other Arab states, saying they “give hope to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and abroad” that “the terrible suffering we have all witnessed over the past year and a half” may come to an end.

Arab leaders accept Egyptian plan

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi told the closing session of the summit that the plan presented “has been endorsed,” claiming earlier in the day that “there will be no real peace without establishing a Palestinian state.”

After the summit, el-Sissi expressed his openness to any proposals and ideas from the international community, adding that he looked forward to collaborating with Trump.

Details of the Egyptian proposal

The 112-page draft document setting out Cairo’s five-year plan to rebuild Gaza at a cost of $53 billion outlines a two-phase approach.

The initial six-month recovery phase will focus on clearing rubble and setting up temporary housing, with an estimated cost of $3 billion.

The first phase of the plan aims to build 200,000 housing units in Gaza over the next two years, followed by a second phase that will add another 200,000 units. By 2030, the plan envisions the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes, accommodating up to 3 million people. It also includes plans for an airport, industrial zones, hotels and parks.

El-Sissi stated that an “independent” Palestinian body would oversee Gaza’s management under the reconstruction plan, with Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas expressing his readiness for the P.A. to play a role in the effort.

The plan, reviewed by Reuters, envisions an international Governance Assistance Mission overseeing humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

The preamble of the draft stresses that no significant international funding for Gaza’s rehabilitation and reconstruction will be provided as long as Hamas remains the dominant armed political force controlling local governance.

It proposes an International Stabilization Force led by Arab states, funding through donor conferences and Palestinian involvement in rebuilding efforts. The plan excludes Hamas and does not place the P.A. in a central role. Instead, a steering board comprising Arab countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the United States and the European Union would oversee implementation.

ISRAEL IS NOW FREE OF BIDEN-BLINKEN RESTRAINTS

With Trump’s backing, Hamas’s defeat is now possible

Israel’s goals of eradicating the terrorists and freeing the hostages remain mutually exclusive. Washington’s green light for a cutoff of aid to Gaza, however, can change the equation. 

 

By Jonathan S. Tobin

 

JNS

Mar 4, 2025 

Hamas fighters in a show of force as Israeli hostages released

 

For the last year and a half, it has been a self-fulfilling prophecy. Those who have claimed that Hamas couldn’t be defeated were right—but only because the rules of engagement of the war that the terrorists launched on Oct. 7, 2023, were set up to ensure that it survived. Those rules may now be about to change. Or at least they will if the Jewish state takes advantage of two factors that could alter the balance of power between it and the genocidal terrorists it seeks to destroy.

The change in power in Washington and the shocking exploitation of the ceasefire deal on the part of Hamas that so outraged the Israeli public has given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to reset that agreement in a way that could either free all the hostages or lead to Hamas’s demise. The question is: Does he have sufficient support from his own people to do it?

That’s the context for the announcement this past weekend that Israel was halting the entry of humanitarian goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip until Hamas agrees to the framework for a second-phase deal along the lines proposed by the Trump administration. The goal is to set up a negotiation that would achieve at least one of Israel’s two main war goals: freeing all of the remaining hostages taken by the Palestinians on Oct. 7 and eradicating Hamas.

The problem with those goals is that they are mutually exclusive.

Will Hamas be allowed to win?

The only way to get all the hostages back is by assenting to an accord that will mean full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. In spite of the various plans being floated for what will happen in the Strip after fighting truly ends, that means Hamas will emerge from the war not only alive but still in control of its ruined fiefdom.

At the same time, the only way to completely defeat Hamas—something difficult but not impossible—involves a decision on the part of Jerusalem that its war effort cannot be held hostage along with the Israelis still held by the terrorists.

This is glaringly obvious, though not being acknowledged by Netanyahu or the Trump administration. Yet the aid cutoff is a sign that Israel’s government is finally starting to act as if it is not committed to fighting Hamas with one hand tied behind its back.

An incomplete victory

The Israel Defense Forces destroyed Hamas’s organized military formations, killed much of its leadership and demolished a sizeable portion of its infrastructure—both above ground and in the hundreds of miles of tunnels it had built in the coastal enclave. But when a ceasefire/hostage release deal halted the fighting in January, it was also clear that the Islamist group that had ruled Gaza as an independent Palestinian state in all but name since 2007 was far from eradicated.

The constant admonitions of the Biden administration demanding that Israel avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, even if it meant letting the terrorists escape, was one part of the problem. Those warnings couldn’t be entirely ignored because they were backed up by threats of halting the supply of vital arms shipments, as well as the slow-walking of deliveries of those shipments that were allowed to be sent to Israel.

The other was that even while it was fighting the Islamist group, in addition to its allies and collaborators, Israel was forced to do something unprecedented in the history of warfare: aiding the civilian population under the control of its enemies. Moreover, it did so while knowing that much of the food, fuel and other supplies being shipped into Gaza daily were winding up in the hands of the very same group that started the war with unspeakable atrocities on Oct. 7.

Despite being falsely accused of war crimes and even committing “genocide” in Gaza, the IDF conducted urban combat in a situation in which its foes deliberately tried to get its own people killed. They did this by fighting around and even underneath them in tunnels and bunkers under hospitals, schools, mosques and civilian homes. Even when taking into account that the casualty statistics supplied by Hamas were wild exaggerations, roughly half the number of those killed in Gaza included Hamas and combatants of other terrorist groups. More than that, when realizing that approximately 80% of fatalities were Hamas members or their families, it’s clear that the charges against the IDF were utter falsehoods.

A dangerous ceasefire

Nevertheless, the ability of Hamas to maintain its much-diminished numbers is the result of pressure exerted on Israel by a Biden administration that was primarily interested in ending the war at any cost, even if it meant that the terrorists emerged triumphant.

Just as important, the terms of the ceasefire/hostage deal that President Joe Biden’s foreign-policy team crafted with their duplicitous Qatari partners seemed to lead to that same outcome. And though President Donald Trump was opposed to Hamas’s continued existence and threatened to unleash “all Hell” on the region if all the hostages weren’t released by his inauguration on Jan. 20, his desire to have the shooting stop in time for his swearing-in led his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to accept those same terms as he pushed the deal over the goal line in the days before Trump 2.0 took power.

That agreement did lead to the release of 30 hostages. But even as Israelis and every decent person celebrated their return home, their condition and the humiliating ceremonies that Hamas staged for their release, including a celebration when the bodies of the Bibas children were handed over, has also transformed the situation.

Netanyahu is under enormous domestic pressure to try to ransom the remaining living hostages, which may number no more than two dozen. He has also been empowered by the outrage against Hamas to not accept the same terms for a second phase of the ceasefire that would simply drag out the same process. That would further empower the terrorists and encourage them to believe they can continue to hang on amid the ruins of a war they started.

The Trump factor

The aid stoppage represents a fundamental change in the way Israel is treating an enemy that makes no secret of its desire to destroy the Jewish state and commit the genocide of its population. It puts Hamas on notice that the gloves may soon be coming off in the war unless it stops playing for time.

That has only been made possible by Trump’s victory last November.

Europe and much of the world still act as if Israel is the only country in the world not allowed to fight to win a war forced on it. But unlike Biden, Trump isn’t worried about international opinion about Gaza. Nor is he constrained to avoid whole-hearted support of the war on Hamas by a faction of his party as Biden was by the left-wing base of the Democrats, where hostility to Israel has gone mainstream. Trump wants the hostages freed, but he’s also floated a plan for not just ousting the terrorists but resettling Gazans elsewhere and turning the Strip into a resort. If Israel chooses to resume the war—the only way to make that or any other postwar plan that is predicated on a non-Hamas government there—he won’t protest or continue advocating for the fantasy of a Palestinian state as Biden did. Indeed, it’s likely that Trump will be cheering on an Israeli offensive.

The next days and weeks will be something of a game of chicken as Hamas and Israel go right up to the brink of war, with both sides daring each other to take responsibility for blowing up the ceasefire talks. The question of which of them has more to lose from such an outcome is open for debate. Netanyahu can’t let Hamas survive, but he also can’t be seen as writing off the lives of any remaining living hostages. Hamas wants to hold onto the hostages because so long as they do, they think they are safe. But they also know an Israel unfettered by American pressure could mean their doom.

Netanyahu now has far more weapons to pressure Hamas than he did before January. By having a partner in Washington who doesn’t believe that Hamas is an “idea” that can’t be defeated but a terror group that can and should be eradicated, he can finally start waging war on it in a way to accomplish that goal.

Such a decision will bring down more opprobrium on Israel than before. And it will likely further fuel the surge of antisemitism spreading across the globe from those who believe that one Jewish state on the planet is one too many. But if anything is certain, it’s that Hamas won’t give up the remaining hostages unless it retains its power and arms. And that is something neither Israel nor the Trump administration should accept.

It remains to be seen if Netanyahu can resist the pressure on him to throw away the sacrifices made by Israel’s soldiers to secure the lives of the hostages. If he does, the primary reason won’t be an American ally that doesn’t think an evil terrorist organization should be allowed to get away with mass murder.

THIS DOESN'T BODE WELL FOR IRAN

Israel, US conduct major joint military drill over Mediterranean

It marks the most significant collaboration in two years and included dozens of fighter jets, strategic B-52 bombers and refueling aircraft. 

 

JNS 

Mar 5, 2025

 

 

Israeli fighter jets escort an American B-52 bomber during joint Israeli-US Air Forces military exercises

 

The Israeli and U.S. Air Forces this week conducted a significant joint military exercise over the Mediterranean Sea, in their first collaboration on this scale in two years.

Dozens of fighter jets, strategic B-52 bombers and refueling aircraft participated, simulating coordinated strikes on shared targets, Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster reported on Tuesday. 

The drill comes as foreign reports suggest Israel is urging the United States to take joint action against Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz emphasized collaboration with Washington to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that diplomatic efforts are faltering, leaving military action as a possibility.

Iran is bracing for an Israeli strike, with The Telegraph citing sources who claim Tehran is on high alert, strengthening defenses at undisclosed sites following recent Israeli attacks.

The Islamic Republic over the past two months conducted its “most intense military exercises in decades,” experts on regional security issues told VOA on Wednesday. The drills involved some weapons systems posing a threat to the U.S., Israel and other nations.

“The pace, intensity and publicity of the exercises is unprecedented,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the U.S. outlet.

Iranian regime media reported the start of the exercise on Dec. 28. A week later, they reported that the exercise, named “Great Prophet 19,” were part of Tehran’s annual “Eqtedar” (“Power”) drills involving war games with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ground forces.

Several more exercises have since followed, including IRGC and Iranian Army air defense drills. Officials also confirmed “nuclear defense drills” around facilities in Natanz, Fordow and the Arak reactor in Khondab.

In response to a VOA request for comment on the drills, the IDF stressed it “conducts continuous situational assessments to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, both defensive and offensive.”

ILLITERATE GRADUATE SUES SCHOOL DISTRICT

By Bob Walsh

 

A diploma without literacy? Student sues her high school 

 

Alicia Ortiz is 19 years old.  She graduated from high school in Hartford, Connecticut last year and began at University of Connecticut in Hartford this past fall.  In a remarkable piece of irony she is studying public policy. 

The problem is she can neither read nor write.  It is causing her problems in college.  In high school she used computer programs to translate her words to text on a page to write essay material. 

She is now suing the city of Hartford and the Board of Education for negligence.  The city and the district have thus far declined comment.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: And she graduated with High Honors.