President-elect Donald Trump told Qatar that he wants a deal to release all 100 remaining Israeli hostages by the time he is inaugurated on January 20, 2025, according to Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Qatar has, in the past, funded Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, and is considered a mediator for the terrorist group.
The Times of Israel reported Wednesday:
Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says that Donald Trump’s advisers have told him that the US president-elect wants a hostage deal reached before he enters office on January 20.
Al Thani makes the revelation during an interview with Sky News when asked about Trump’s Monday warning that there will be “all hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t returned by his inauguration.
“Such a statement is expected, and we hope that it will work and will be delivered to both parties,” the Qatari premier says.
Trump warned earlier in the week that there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY” (in all caps) if the hostages were not released by the 20th of January. He did not mention a ceasefire.
On Wednesday, Trump also named former Abraham Accords negotiator Adam Boehler as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, with the rank of Ambassador, suggesting the President-elect is serious about reaching a deal.
Egypt has put together a new ceasefire proposal — one that would not see all of the hostages released at once, and one that would offer fewer hostages in the first stage than the 33 that were offered in a previous proposal.
Israel has not ruled out the proposal, and will be sending a delegation to Cairo next week to discuss it.
Hamas has tried to pressure Trump to pressure Israel to give up the war.
Update: Reuters reported that President-elect Trump’s nominee to be Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, has already traveled to both Qatar and Israel in an effort to restart hostage talks.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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