US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY” if the hostages were not freed by his inauguration on January 20 was aimed not only at Hamas but also Israel, a source familiar with conversations that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and mediators in Doha tells the Wall Street Journal.
According to the person cited in the report, Witkoff told Netanyahu after traveling to Jerusalem last Shabbat that decisions needed to be made and he needed to authorize Israeli negotiators to make them, but if the premier did not want to do so then all those involved in the talks should pack up and head home.
“The president has been a great friend of Israel,” the person quotes Witkoff as telling Netanyahu, “and now it’s time to be a friend back.”
Witkoff reportedly delivered a similar message to Arab mediators, saying now was the time to seal an agreement and end the diplomatic to and fro.
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this