In Full Agreement

US secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Israel and agreed on a variety of issues as we read in a report from The Times Of Israel:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump “are working in full cooperation and coordination” on Gaza, the premier said on Sunday alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“We have a common strategy and we can’t always share details of this strategy with the public,” Netanyahu said, “including when the gates of hell will be open, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them.”

Netanyahu made the comments to the press after meeting with Rubio in his office in Jerusalem.

And on the hostages there is agreement on getting them all back. But US President Trump wants them all back now, not in increments of two or three a week:

Last week, Trump suggested that if all of the hostages were not freed by Hamas by midday Saturday, the ceasefire should be abandoned and “let hell break out.”

Hamas changed its mind on releasing no one to three, possibly due to Trump’s deadline:

Hamas released three living male hostages on Saturday, as required by the deal, after having said on Monday that it was suspending hostage releases until further notice.

Netanyahu met with his leaders to discuss what they will do next:

Netanyahu convened his security cabinet Saturday night to decide on next steps, but gave no indication in statements about what Israel will do.

It is the changing statements that concern most who want all the hostages released at one time:

Contradictory Israeli statements after Trump’s comments last week threatened a return to war if “our hostages” and “all of them” weren’t released. Another message said nine hostages had to be released “in the coming days,” referring to the number of captives known to be alive who at that point had yet to be released under the current ceasefire phase.

Trump made it extremely clear what he wanted and it’s a puzzle why Netanyahu only accepted three:

Trump said Saturday it was up to Israel to decide how to respond to Hamas missing his deadline. Israel, he wrote on his TruthSocial platform, must decide “what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES.”

“The United States will back the decision they make!”

The PM was adamant that the three goals of the war will be met and said that America’s help will help them do it:

Alongside Rubio on Sunday, Netanyahu promised that Israel will achieve its war goals of toppling Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and making sure Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Israel in the future.

He added that America’s “unequivocal support” will help Israel achieve these goals faster.

A Clear Speaker

During the press conference with Rubio and Netanyahu, Rubio said that Trump means exactly what he says, starting with the hostage situation:

Rubio told the press gathered in the Prime Minister’s Office that Trump is “a man that speaks clearly and unambiguously, who makes clear his views on issues.”

The first issue Trump has been clear on, said Rubio, is that the “hostages need to come home, they need to be released.”

“That must happen. It’s not optional.”

Rubio also told the Israeli President the same thing:

Later Sunday, Rubio told President Isaac Herzog that Trump is “strongly and deeply committed” to the return of “every single hostage” being held in Gaza, and won’t rest “until all of them are home.”

And Trump is also clear that Hamas does need to be totally defeated:

Rubio added in his appearance with Netanyahu that Trump “has been very clear that Hamas cannot continue as a government or military force, and frankly as long as it stands as a force that can govern, as a force that can administer, or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”

“It must be eradicated, it must be eliminated,” Rubio declared.

While both parties in the current deal claim the other has breached the 1st phase of the deal the concept of moving to the 2nd phase are iffy:

Hamas and Israel are currently implementing the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, and negotiations have yet to begin for the second phase. Israel has not sent negotiators with a mandate to advance such talks, despite being required to do so under the deal’s terms.

The second phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining hostages and include discussions on a permanent end to the war.

Rubio also brought up the Gaza relocation proposal made by Trump:

Rubio and Netanyahu also discussed Trump’s controversial vision for the future of Gaza. While Netanyahu was at the White House earlier this month, and on numerous occasions since, Trump has called for the permanent relocation of all Gazans, and for the US to rebuild the war-torn territory.

Some US officials have since sought to paint the plan as a temporary relocation, but Trump has not.

Netanyahu spoke highly about the plan, one he says will work and really has to:

Netanyahu said he spoke with Rubio about Trump’s “bold vision for Gaza, for Gaza’s future, and how we can work together to ensure that future becomes a reality.”

Rubio also praised the plan as “something that is new, something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline. It may have surprised and shocked many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle to repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.”

Rubio was a busy man:

Apart from Herzog, Rubio also on Sunday met hostages’ families, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

And About Iran

Netanyahu stated that Iran is at the forefront of all the thing Rubio and he discussed:

Netanyahu said none of the issues discussed on Sunday were more important than Iran.

“Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran,” he said at his joint appearance with Rubio. “We agree that the ayatollahs must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. We also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back.”

He boasted that Israeli military operations have badly weakened the Iranian axis in the region. With Trump’s support, said Netanyahu, “we can and will finish the job.”

The US Secretary of State, like many in Netanyahu’s leadership think that taking care if Iran solves a great deal of issues:

Rubio also talked tough on Iran, saying the Islamic Republic is overwhelmingly responsible for the problems plaguing the Middle East.

Iran “is the greatest single force of instability in the region,” he argued, saying it is “behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for millions of people” throughout the region.

When he speaks of Iran, Rubio stressed, he is referring to the regime. And the people of Iran, he said, “are victims of that regime.”

Violence in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq “all have behind them one common theme – Iran. And that must be addressed,” Rubio said.

Rubio adds that Iran cannot get their hands on nuclear weapons:

A nuclear Iran “can never happen,” he said, adding that Trump has been very clear on that issue as well.

The US intelligence community recently presented assessments that Israel is considering strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, and that the attacks could come this year, according to the Washington Post.

Iran continues to say they only want nuclear power for commercial uses, which any reasonable person knows is a lie:

Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes. However, the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA has said that Iran is currently enriching uranium to levels that have no civilian use, and the country has obstructed international inspectors seeking to visit its facilities.

In addition, The New York Times reported earlier this month that American intelligence indicates a covert team of Iranian scientists was exploring ways to quickly develop a nuclear weapon if the country’s leadership decided to pursue one.

Rubio and Netanyahu then talked about Syria, which they agreed must not be led by another radical regime and that neither country will allow it. They then mentioned Hezbollah which they said that if Lebanon can’t disarm them, Israel and America will. And they conclude by opposing all the current lawfare from hostile international institutions, including the UN General Assembly, UN Human Rights Council, and the ICJ and ICC in The Hague. All of these things are really good news to both countries and a breath of fresh air to Israel because the previous administration wasn’t ready to do much more than talk about them seriously. Other than the hostage release timing, an ironclad support of Israel without all the restrictions should make Israelis smile.