Gaza Update: Time to Praise Trump?

Plus, this week's videos: Jeff Cohen, Dean Baker, Sonali Kolhatkar.

My latest column made the argument that “the Trump peace plan is itself a war crime” because it used humanitarian aid and child prisoners as leverage to force a deal, which is illegal under international law. I also said that the deal was unfairly skewed in Israel’s favor.

I still believe both statements are correct. There has, however, been a surprising turn of events—the kind that can make diplomacy both exciting and unpredictable. Hamas shrewdly decided to say it has partially accepted the deal but will need to consult with other Palestinian factions before accepting the entire package. That sounds like a prelude to negotiation.

The comments Trump made when the deal was announced seemed to provide no room for negotiation. Surprisingly, however, he seemed to embrace the Hamas response. (He even went so far as to re-post it on social media.) Trump has now pivoted to pressuring Netanyahu and Israel—who have so far offered little rhetorical resistance.

Are these developments the result of shrewd negotiating tactics on Trump’s part? Did he lay a trap for Netanyahu—based, perhaps, on the reports that Trump was angry about Israel’s bombing of Qatar, where the Trump family has extensive financial interests? Or was this a spontaneous response—one he may reverse again?

We can’t know, of course. But Egypt has announced that ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas will begin in Cairo on Monday. The Israeli far right is threatening to pull out of the ruling coalition, which could lead to the collapse of the Israeli government (and Netanyahu’s long-anticipated indictment on corruption charges.)

It’s important to note that the killing in Gaza continues, using both weaponry (Israel bombed Gaza again just hours ago) and mass starvation. Israel’s illegal hijacking of the Gaza Sumud flotilla shows that it still ignores international law. But Netanyahu is on the ropes, at least for now, no matter how much he tries to bluster and spin.

That’s no reason to be naive, of course. The situation is changing day by day, and sometimes hour by hour. Was Trump’s pro-Israel rhetoric a head fake? Is this a head fake? Or is it all spontaneous and impulsive, subject to change at any moment? Are Trump’s motives purely selfish?

Again, we can’t know. But, as of now, Donald Trump has come much closer to ending the conflict this week than Joe Biden did in two years. People who are appalled and concerned by many of Trump’s actions (as I am) but uncritically support the Democratic mainstream may want to reflect on this turn of events.

But this is beyond partisanship. Every one of us should hope with every fiber of our being that the slaughter ends soon. In fact, we should demand it.

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This week’s videos:

THE CORPORATE WAR on FREE SPEECH (w/Jeff Cohen)

The fight over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension and reinstatement was a flashpoint which exposed corporate control over American media—and how easy it is for corporations and their billionaire owners to abuse that control and surrender to authoritarian pressure and billionaire control. Jeff Cohen, founder of FAIR and co-founder of Roots Action, discusses the way right-wing moguls from Larry Ellison to Mark Zuckerberg are reshaping both traditional and social media, threatening satire, journalism, and democratic discourse. Yet Jeff also spotlights a countervailing force: collective action—from consumers and celebrities to grassroots activists—and independent media platforms that will challenge the gatekeepers of information.

Links for this interview:

Jeff Cohen’s column on Kimmel and Media:
https://www.salon.com/2025/09/20/kimmels-suspension-shows-media-censorship-is-a-structural-problem/
Roots Action: https://www.rootsaction.org
FAIR: https://fair.org
https://jeffcohen.org

THE SHAREHOLDER MYTH (w/Dean Baker)

Economist Dean Baker’s recent column on the center-left myth of “shareholder capitalism” gave me new onsights on a topic I thought I understood backwards and forwards: the perverse incentives of corporate executives. Here, Dean explains why the cronyism is even worse than I thought. What we have today isn’t “shareholder” capitalism, and myths about efficiency and dynamism mask decades of slowing productivity and widening inequality.

Dean’s column also highlights the collapse of labor’s countervailing power, the role of a captured media in perpetuating economic myths, and the urgent need for new institutional supports—from stronger unions to voucher-based media funding—to restore accountability.

Dean’s column is here:

https://cepr.net/publications/the-free-market-fatal-error/

RFK Jr, VACCINES and COLLECTIVE CARE (w/Sonali Kolhatkar)

Sonali Kolhatkar’s latest column, “RFK, Jr. Threatens a Century of Medical Progress,” uses vaccine policy as a foundation for a broader discussion of health and policy. She describes widespread vaccination as “an act of collective care,” which I think sums it up perfectly. In this discussion we touch on herd immunity and today’s hyper-individualistic approach to health and other societal issues, as well as other issues.

Sonali’s column is here:

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/03/rfk-jr-threatens-a-century-of-medical-progress/