From the Liveblog of
Thursday, January 30, 2025
US envoy Steve Witkoff meets Smotrich, Deri and Dermer in Jerusalem
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich meet with US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff in Jerusalem.
Witkoff met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the premier’s Jerusalem office yesterday, where Witkoff told Netanyahu and Dermer that the US is committed to work with the other mediators to ensure that the deal with Hamas is completed.
The meeting with Smotrich is seen as significant. The far-right minister is opposed to the ceasefire deal and was boycotted by the previous administration.
On Tuesday, before meeting Netanyahu, Witkoff met with Hussein Al-Sheikh, a top aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, in Saudi Arabia.
The Times of Israel Community.