The Duran Podcast - Biden White House closes in on Gaza ceasefire

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

Biden White House closes in on Gaza ceasefireThe Duran: Episode 2118

All right, Alexander, let's talk about what is unfolding in the Middle East. We've discussed tensions between Turkey and Israel, but it looks like we also have tensions between Trump and Netanyahu, which is not out of the ordinary. No. To be honest, they've gotten along, then they had a falling out, and they got along again with the new election cycle that took place and now it looks like they've something happened. I don't know what's going on, but it does look like they're having another falling out.

So what do you think is shaping up in the Middle East? Well, can I just make a quick observation? I'm not at all surprised that there has been a falling out between Trump and Netanyahu. And I don't think that there is any doubt that there has been a falling out between Trump and Netanyahu. There was talk that Netanyahu might come to Trump's inauguration. I absolutely buy it. Foreign leaders don't usually attend the U.S. president's inauguration. But then Netanyahu is not your typical foreign leader.

And there would have been good reason for him to go. He's not going. I think he senses that at the moment, moment he's not welcome in Washington, or at least not welcome, on Trump's part. Trump has now published an absolutely excoriating video of Jeffrey Sachs, and of course we know very well, are criticizing Netanyahu. And it's clear to me that there are now tensions between the two men. Can I just say, we called it, we called it back in the summer. We said, if you remember, when Netanyahu went to Washington back in August and made all those

tremendously powerful war speeches in Congress and worked all his friends in Congress and seemed to be setting us up for a war with Iran, we said at the time that what Netanyahu was doing was he was capitalizing on a political vacuum in Washington. Biden had stepped down from being the Democratic Party's nominee. We've discussed many places how that happened. Kamala Harris was not yet the president, so it was uncertain who was actually in charge, despite the fact that she was going to stand for the presidency. We said that Netanyahu would try to make as much use of this power vacuum as he could.

which is exactly what he did. And we said that the end point was the November election, because after the November election, there would be clarity about the future structure of power in Washington. And we also said at the time, and we said this all in our program back in August, our programs back in August, that even though there is supposed to be this friendship

between Donald Trump and Netanyahu. The reality is that a weak president, in fact, a collapse president, which is what Biden was over the summer, suits Netanyahu better than a much, much stronger president who knows his own mind would do, and that was what he was likely to get with Donald Trump. And that is exactly what we have seen. was elected in November. He is now the president-elect. We've now learned from Axios that the

neocons weren't just pressing Biden to launch a missile strike against Iran during the transition period. They were also pressing Trump. They were Israeli and Israeli official came to Washington. There were discussions with the Trump team about launching an attack on Iran. The Trump team, Trump himself made it absolutely clear that they were not keen. There was, Trump gave his press conference a week ago, which again, it came across to me very clearly that he's not looking for another war in the Middle East at this particular time.

So the whole process of getting a war started between the United States and Israel on the one hand and Iran on the other has now been brought to a juddering stop. And there's clearly tensions between Netanyahu and Trump. And that's the true reason why Netanyahu is not coming to Washington. And Trump has made clear his unhappiness with the way in which Netanyahu has been trying to pressure him by publishing Jeffrey Sachs's comments. What do you make of the reports that Biden is very close to a deal in Gaza? Amas and the hostages, yeah.

Again, this is Biden trying to do that. But again, the real factor that has changed the whole situation there is, again, the election of Trump. Trump apparently, this is the sense I'm getting. I mean, he doesn't like Hamas. Take it as red. He absolutely detest Hamas. He doesn't like the regime. in Tehran. He detests the regime in Iran. The point is he doesn't want instability in war in the

Middle East, certainly not in the first few months that he is president. He's got to set his agenda in the United States. He wants at least a period of calm in the Middle East. So he wants, I think, a ceasefire in Gaza. And he wants, he doesn't want to. He doesn't want to to war with Iran. And the Israelis understand this. They understand that in a few weeks, in a week's time, in 10 days' time, they will be dealing with a much, much stronger president than the one they have now. So better do the deal now whilst Biden is still in the presidency than wait until Trump appears. I think we're closer to a ceasefire in Gaza than we have ever been. And we're starting to get some idea of what that might involve.

So the remaining hostages released. The Israelis are going to release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners. I don't know the details. Israel's maximalist objectives in Gaza, the destruction of Hamas, have not been achieved. There's been a complaint made by a group of Knesset, Israeli parliamentarians to the government, that Hamas is actually reorganizing and getting stronger again, and that Israel is finding, that he's having to fight over the same streaks time and time again. So Israel has not achieved its objectives, its stated objectives in Gaza.

But the whole cities will be released. There will be some return to a kind of stability, or at least, you know, a quiet period in Gaza. There'll be a ceasefire of some kind. Palestinian prisoners will be released. Netanyahu and his people will claim victory. The Trump people will be able to move on. Biden will say that he's achieved some kind of success, but Hamas will still be there.

This is Biden's way of getting a deal before Trump. I mean, that's how he's at our house. That's how they're looking at it. Obviously, obviously. obviously, obviously, a kind of deal, which could have been achieved a year ago, by the way. Just saying. Exactly. It could have been achieved a year ago, but they didn't want the Biden White House to not want a deal a year ago.

No. Yeah. And Netanyahu did not want a deal a year ago. No. Okay. Anything else that we need to discuss any? Yeah. I'm going to say this.

I think that Trump is going to renew a big push to try to get the Saudis and the, the Israelis to establish diplomatic relations. I think that he's going to be his priority now. About the Palestinians, I don't really, and I say this was snorough, I don't think he cares very much about them. But I do think he wants a general stabilization at the situation in the Middle East, and I still think that he thinks that the way to do that is by getting the Saudis and the Israelis to establish diplomatic relations. These Saudis have been resisting this up to this point, but But then one of the reasons they resisted it is because they don't like Joe Biden. NBS gets on with Donald Trump.

Who's to say this time it might be different? Yeah. Kellogg was also talking about maximum pressure on Iran. I imagine they're discussing sanctions. They are. Absolutely. Absolutely. They're going to discuss sanctions. They're going to try and escalate the economic war against Iran. the Russians are about to sign a major partnership agreement with Iran, which will undermine that strategy, which is one reason why the Americans need to speak to the Russians, should say.

Yeah, all right. We will end the video there. The durand.com. We are on Rumble, Odyssey, British, Telegram, Rockfin, and X, and go to the Durant Shop, pick up some merch like what we are wearing in this video update. The link is in the description box down below. Take care.