U.S. Empire Drops Ukraine - Israel Backs Down On Hamas Demands

U.S. Empire Drops Ukraine - Israel Backs Down On Hamas Demands

Feb. 12, 2025

U.S. IMPERIALISM - FOLLOW THE MONEY

Caitlin Johnstone

The two big stories in the news today are the Trump administration saying Ukraine is going to have to give up territory and NATO ambitions in order to secure a peace deal, while Israel appears to retreat from its ceasefire standoff with Hamas.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the US “does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome for a negotiated settlement,” and that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.” This comes as Trump announces that he is in talks with Vladimir Putin to bring the war in Ukraine to an end.

Both NATO membership and recapturing all territory lost to Russia have been the goal of Ukraine’s President Zelensky and the NATO enthusiasts throughout the western world who adore him.

It’s hard to see this as anything other than a win for Hamas. The ceasefire became jeopardized when Hamas announced it would be delaying the scheduled release of Israeli hostages until Israel began abiding by the ceasefire, and Israeli officials have been admitting to the press that Israel was violating the ceasefire while Hamas was not.

Hamas demanded Israel hold up its end of the bargain and Israel made some threats, but apparently eventually backed down.

Perhaps Tel Aviv was just practicing the Israeli tradition of “shitat hamatzliah” - just trying to do whatever you want to do and seeing if you get away with it.

Article with supporting links: https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/02/13/washington-drops-ukraine-israel-backs-down-on-hamas-demands

Original: https://youtu.be/IGRbmZ74hUc

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