Alex Soros: ‘These People Are Bullies. And You Fight Back’, The Financial Times
Roula Khalaf writes, “The Soros family has had a commitment to peace, funding Israeli and Palestinian rights groups and donating to J Street, the progressive pro-Israeli lobby group in the US. I ask [Alex Soros] how he feels about the carnage in Gaza, which Israel has turned to rubble following the October 7 attack and hostage-taking by Hamas, the group that controlled the strip. ‘You have to ask yourself about short-term victories versus long-term victories,’ he says, referring to Israel’s battering of Iran-backed militant groups over the past year. There is no alternative, Soros tells me, to a two-state solution, in which Palestine and Israel live side by side.”
Israeli Forces Kill 2 Men in Jenin Who They Say Were Wanted for Murder, The New York Times
Israel’s military pressed ahead with its offensive in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Thursday and said it had killed two men in a siege who had been wanted for the murder of three Israelis earlier this month. The men, identified on Thursday by the Israeli military as Mohamad Nazzal and Katiba Shalabi, were affiliated with a militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and had carried out the shooting in the village of Al-Funduq on Jan. 6.
West Bank Mayor Warns of ‘Man-Made Disaster,’ As Israel Says It Took ‘Lessons’ From Gaza War, CNN
The scale and intensity of the Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Jenin is “by far the hardest and most troubling” in recent months, according to its mayor. Minister of Defense, Israel Katz said operation “Iron Wall” in the Jenin refugee camp would be a shift in the military’s security approach in the occupied West Bank. “A powerful operation to eliminate terrorists and terror infrastructure in the camp, ensuring that terrorism does not return to the camp after the operation is over – the first lesson from the method of repeated raids in Gaza,” he said.
Israel Wants Peaceful Gaza but Unsure on Funding Reconstruction, Says Economy Minister, Reuters
Economy Minister Nir Barkat told Reuters in an interview during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland that reconstruction of Gaza was not possible unless Hamas decided it wanted lasting peace with Israel. “The key question is if…they want to build a Dubai or rebuild Gaza the way it was,” Barkat said, referring to the United Arab Emirates city, a global hub of commerce, and to Gaza under Palestinian Islamist militant rule since 2007.
Hamas Takes Charge in Gaza After 15 Months of War, The New York Times
The morning the cease-fire in Gaza went into effect, masked members of Hamas’s military wing drove through the streets of Gaza in clean, white pickups, carrying Hamas flags and automatic rifles. Hamas leaders have indeed expressed readiness to give up civilian governance in Gaza, but without dismantling its military wing — a dynamic that would be similar to Hezbollah’s role in Lebanon before its last conflict with Israel.
Gazans Ready Tent Camps for Families Returning to North After Ceasefire, Reuters
On open ground surrounded by blown-out buildings, a group of men began putting up rows of white tents to receive families who are planning to return north on Saturday when the Palestinian militant group Hamas is due to release a second batch of hostages in return for dozens of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
New Secretary of State Rubio Holds First Call With Netanyahu: US Support for Israel ‘A Top Priority’, The Times of Israel
Marco Rubio “congratulated” Netanyahu “on Israel’s successes against Hamas and Hezbollah and pledged to work tirelessly to help free all remaining hostages held in Gaza,” Rubio added that “he looks forward to addressing the threats posed by Iran and pursuing opportunities for peace.”
Elise Stefanik Pledges Support for Trump, Israel at UN Ambassador Confirmation Hearing, USA Today
Rep. Elise Stefanik pledged to represent Trump’s “America first” agenda and be an unwavering supporter of Israel at her confirmation hearing for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump was sworn into office.
Gaza Cease-Fire: The View From Israel, Politico
Nimrod Goren writes, “Taking place in the context of many other regional changes, this cease-fire also creates new opportunities. From the Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire in Lebanon to the transition in Syria and the weakening of Iran, all these developments improve Israel’s geopolitical situation. If only the country had a government that would seek to leverage this to advance a two-state solution, we could have witnessed a much more dramatic transformation — including normalization in Israeli-Saudi relations.”
Where the Hostage Deal and Ceasefire Go Next: 3 Scenarios for Phase 2, Substack
Ilan Goldenberg writes, “The hardest part of this by far is an agreement on day-after governance. And so the most important question right now is where will we be on Day 42? As I see it – 3 scenarios: A full deal on post-conflict Gaza governance, No deal and a resumption of the war or ending the war with no real agreement on the post-conflict governance – This is the most likely outcome. It will get the hostages out and end the fighting. But after 15 months Hamas will still be in charge of Gaza and the situation will basically go back to how it was, only with civilians in Gaza living in much worse conditions.”
Online Calls to Action Preceded a Settler Onslaught in the West Bank, and Once Again Palestinians Were Left Unprotected, Haaretz
Hagar Shezaf writes, “After a shooting attack that killed three Israelis in the West Bank, and especially with Palestinian prisoners being released in the hostage deal, extremist settlers have ramped up their calls to avenge Palestinian villages. On Monday, they carried out their threat.”