S2 E74. Ceasefire in Lebanon: The Trump Effect?

It’s wonderful to have my podcast pal, Ya’akov Katz, back from all his busy travels and work and speaking to us about one of the hot issues today: Lebanon. In this “lame duck” period, President Biden’s special envoy for all matters Lebanon and Israel, Amos Hochstein, has been working hard to close a ceasefire deal between Lebanon and Israel. But he’s closer than ever now, and that is likely due to the Trump Effect (which I have elevated to being a proper noun) and how he is regarded in the Middle East. Trump is highly respected—by the good guys and the bad guys. And in this region, that means he is feared. He does what he says he will do. And he has been unequivocal in his hardline position on Iran: sanctions, sanctions, and more sanctions. No more carrots. All sticks. And his appointees named to date reinforce that approach. President-elect Trump has even put Israeli PM Netanyahu on notice and said that he expects all the wars involving Israel to be finished by the time he takes office. And Bibi is not taking that warning lightly. Nor is Iran. Or Lebanon. Word has been swirling for two weeks now that a deal is imminent. But as always, the devil is in the details. Ya’akov and I get deep into Lebanon to understand how Israel can get out of there. We finish up with a brief discussion of Israel’s new Minister of Defense, Yisrael Katz and, as always, the desperate plight of the 101 hostages—eight Thai nationals and 93 Israelis (with many holding dual citizenships) still in Hamas captivity.