The heart that so desperately wanted to rejoice, to celebrate the release of Ohad, Eli, and Or, became paralyzed for a few moments in a wave of true collective fear. The three return after 491 days in captivity at the hands of these animals: emaciated, exhausted, broken. As time passes, the images will only become even harder to bear.
The release of three hostages Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy, after 491 days in Hamas captivity, evoked deep distress. The Israeli negotiation team is now facing a critical question: Should efforts be accelerated to secure a second phase of the deal and bring the remaining hostages home?
I do not support forced displacement of any people. However, Palestinians who wish to escape war-torn Gaza and build better lives for themselves should be allowed to do so – and Egypt and Jordan have a responsibility to facilitate that.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signals sweeping strategic shift will transform enclave. The initiative aligns with various Israeli proposals from the past year, including plans for a land bridge stretching from the East through the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea.
Arab Muslim societies missed a golden opportunity to weaken or even outright defeat Zionism. Instead, these societies' anti-Jewish rage fueled the new Jewish state and served as further evidence of its necessity.
After October 7 and what we've seen since, including the evident involvement of most residents in Hamas's terror and slaughter machine, one would have to be intellectually and morally bankrupt to think we could continue living alongside this ticking bomb.
Color returned to the pale faces as Israeli team emerged from crucial Trump meeting; The Israeli smiles, here in Washington and back home, are entirely justified.
When President Trump first floated the idea of brokering peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the global elite scoffed. Diplomats, academics, and so-called Middle East experts dismissed him as naive, claiming that peace was unattainable without endless concessions and compromises.
Netanyahu's challenge is to translate this foundation into concrete agreements with President Trump on several interconnected issues, primarily three key matters: phase two of the hostage deal, the Iranian nuclear issue, and the possibility of normalization with Saudi Arabia.
The White House summit's central development was Trump's diplomatic bombshell, already dubbed "Trumpsfer". Its shocking impact on the Arab states, and the US' absolute alignment with Israel, was plainly visible.