Is the Trump administration giving Israel the Ukraine treatment?

OK, not quite because, among other things, the U.S. weapons are still flowing.

But this move to try to revive ceasefire talks by negotiating with Hamas directly looks a bit like speaking to Russia directly about resolving the Ukraine war.

Judging by their response, the Israeli government is none too happy.

Is the Trump administration giving Israel the Ukraine treatment?

OK, not quite because, among other things, the U.S. weapons are still flowing.

But this move to try to revive ceasefire talks by negotiating with Hamas directly looks a bit like speaking to Russia directly about resolving the Ukraine war.

Judging by their response, the Israeli government is none too happy. https://www.axios.com/2025/03/05/us-hamas-talks-gaza-war-israel

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depends on who you consider to be Russia and Ukraine in this comparison

The Trump administration approach to Israel-Palestine has been hard to make sense of at times. On the one hand, Trump succeeded in getting Netanyahu's ceasefire buy-in where Biden failed. His envoy Steve Witkoff even became a target of neocon/Likud smears. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/steve-witkoff-ceasefire-attacks-israel-qatar_n_67a1aeffe4b09c948561e57c

At the same time, Trump has proposed expelling all Gazans to make Gaza a resort enclave, and signaled there will be little, if any, pushback on the far-right settler movement. His administration lifted sanctions on settlers engaged in violence and just welcomed Bezalel Smotrich, the far-right Israeli finance minister, on an official Washington visit for the first time.

No denying that Trump's overall approach has been more traditionally hawkish toward Palestine -- both at home and abroad -- than on other foreign-policy topics. I'm just trying to interpret some of the conflicting signals. His willingness to gore sacred cows seems to have some ancillary benefits from a dovish perspective, even if it doesn't redeem the overall approach.

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No denying that Trump's overall approach has been more traditionally hawkish toward Palestine -- both at home and abroad -- than on other foreign-policy topics. I'm just trying to interpret some of the conflicting signals. His willingness to gore sacred cows seems to have some ancillary benefits from a dovish perspective, even if it doesn't redeem the overall approach. https://warpcast.com/dmarans/0xddbd139e

Didn't Trump just today say he wants to jail a bunch of people for public assembly and speaking against the Israel-US war against Palestine?

Judging by this post just now, I'm not getting that sense 😬

Trump’s game with Hamas isn’t about Hamas or Israel! he couldn’t care less. His real target is Iran, and he is looking for leverage. 

Let’s see how this plays out