Hillel Neuer on Fox Business: “Never before has a side claimed to suffer genocide and also win the war they started”

 

Hillel Neuer appeared on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo to discuss the latest ceasefire agreement and the decline of Iran and their proxies since the start of Hamas’s war on Israel.

Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business: Now joining us is UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer. Hillel, thanks very much for being here. What is your reaction to this new development regarding the ceasefire? We’re waiting on more details.

Hillel Neuer: Look, it’s the Middle East. Hamas wants to show its base that they’re fighting until the very last moment. I think we can expect, given the deadline that President Trump has put, I think we can expect that Hamas, in the end, will go ahead with the deal. This is sort of last minute bargaining.

Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business: I’m glad you mentioned President Trump, because the President-elect posted this on Truth Social: ” This epic ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our historic victory in November. My national security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to make sure Gaza never becomes a terrorist safe haven.”

The Times of Israel is reporting that Arab officials say Witkoff swayed Netanyahu more in one meeting than Biden did all year, but incoming White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt writes this on X: “Let’s be clear, this deal would not have been struck without the forceful hand of President Trump and his Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff. Once again, peace through strength prevails.”

Even Biden’s State Department praised the Trump team for the efforts, although Joe Biden himself, he was reluctant to do so.

U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller (recorded video): This ceasefire agreement was a long time in the making and comes as a result of extensive diplomatic engagements by President Biden, Secretary Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Director of Central Intelligence, William Burns, Brett McGurk, and other officials across the government, as well as our partners in the governments of Qatar and Egypt. when it comes to the involvement of the President-elect, Trump’s team has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.

Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business: Hillel, how much did Trump and his team sway the negotiations? I know Joe Biden has been asking for a ceasefire for a year, but what do you think? How did this happen?

Hillel Neuer: Now look, I think both administrations, the outgoing and the incoming, get credit. The details were indeed developed over many months, the pressure, the urgency is the incoming administration. So I think Biden team can get credit for working on the details, but the urgency that President Trump put in his announcement that that “all hell would break out” if the deal was not done by next week, and him sending his special envoy to the region, putting pressure on everyone, I think that urgency is what clinched the deal.

And I think this deal needs to be welcomed with a mix of relief, heartache and outrage. Relief that finally, after 466 days, some hostages will begin to be released in the next few weeks. We’re expecting 33 hostages so far, that’s the relief. The heartache is knowing that dozens have been killed and died in the past one-plus years in the torture chambers of Hamas in Gaza, the idea that many of the hostages will not be released in the initial phase, and the opening up of the wound of what they suffered, the torture, and the horrific abuse.

Finally, the outrage. What Hamas did on October 7th, the massacre of entire families, horrific, unspeakable atrocities, and the support that Hamas won in campuses and other quarters of the elites across America and around the world.

Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business: President Biden says, you know, thanks to him, terrorism and threats in Gaza have been significantly diminished.

U.S. President Joseph Biden (recorded video): Now, the terror network that once protected and sustained Hamas is far weaker. Iran is weaker. Iran is weaker than it has been in decades. Hezbollah is badly degraded, and after more than 15 months of war, Hamas’s senior leaders are dead. Thousands of Hamas fighters are dead, and the military formations have been destroyed.

Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business: So many questions about that, Hillel. First of all, I don’t think Iran is weakened. I mean, they’ve had an opportunity to generate billions and billions of oil revenue selling it to China. This administration, the Biden administration, blew off the sanctions, and I want to get your take on this deal as well, because who’s in charge of Gaza now, what’s next for the region, and why is it that so many of the hostages will remain in Gaza? Only 33 hostages will be released in the first phase, dozens alive and dead. It just seems that the initial phases of this deal is, you know, one Israeli for 50 Palestinians in one frame, and one Israeli for 30 Palestinians. What do you make of this deal?

Hillel Neuer: Look, you know, Hamas leaders have been declaring victory in the past day. Their deputy chief Khalil al-Hayya said this was a victory that would be a source of pride for generations, and he said it was a turning point in history for the Palestinians. And this is absurd.

Indeed, it is true—whether Biden can claim credit for it or not, because at various key points he told Israel to hold back, whether it was the war in Lebanon, whether it was entering Rafah, of course, he did supply arms to Israel for the most part—but there’s no question Hezbollah has been crushed.

That forced Lebanon to demand a ceasefire and has a new leadership. Syria, the Assad regime as a result of Iran and Hezbollah being weakened, the Assad regime fell and is no more. Iran is weakened. You know, their air defenses—you’re right about what you said about oil, that is an outrage—but their air defenses were, you know, significantly destroyed, and they are vulnerable.

So, there is no victory [for Hamas], and we should note that never before in history has a side claimed to suffer genocide at the same time that they declare victory in the war and massacre that they started.

Maria Bartiromo, Fox Business: Iran may be weakened as a result of Israel’s aggressiveness despite Biden’s guidance. Biden kept telling them, end this, ceasefire now, don’t go into Rafah. Israel blew that off and did it. And yes, there were, there was a weakening of Iranian leadership and proxies as a result of that. Hillel, we’re watching this closely, and we want to see whether or not this actually sticks. Thank you, sir.

UN Watch