The Historical Case for Trump’s Riviera

Much of the international condemnation of Donald Trump’s "Riviera" plan for Gaza rests on the assumption that the Palestinians retain sovereignty over the territory, despite all the events that have taken place since their incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023, and that they also continue to have the right to choose their own government.

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Trump restores ‘maximum pressure’ to crush Iran’s terror machine



President Trump on Tuesday took a major step toward global peace by signing a presidential memorandum reinstating his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran. The directive aims to cut off Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon and reduce its oil exports to zero. As the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, Iran poses a significant threat, and Trump’s policy seeks to curb its influence.

This move marks the beginning of a much-needed "maximum pressure plus" campaign, designed to reverse the damage caused by the Biden administration’s concessions to Iran.

The United States and its allies can defeat the Iranian regime in 2025 without war or firing a single bullet.

With Trump back in the White House, several unexpected developments in the Middle East may help him achieve the long-sought goal of regional peace and stability.

Since September 2022, the Iranian people have mounted a historic challenge to the regime, widely regarded as the “head of the snake” responsible for fueling conflict across the region. Protesters in the uprising rejected both monarchy and theocracy, calling for a democratic republic. Their chants included “Down with Khamenei” (that is, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader) and “Down with the oppressor, be it the shah or the ayatollah.”

In 2022, the ayatollah attempted to crush opposition by ordering the murder of at least 750 protesters and the arrest of more than 30,000 people. Yet despite the brutal crackdown, the Iranian people’s desire for freedom remained unshaken. Senior regime officials and analysts continue to warn that, as economic and social conditions deteriorate, an even larger uprising is inevitable.

To prevent his regime’s downfall, Khamenei instigated war in the Middle East through his proxies in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. The move proved to be a disastrous miscalculation, however. Instead of securing his grip on power, Khamenei emerged as the war’s biggest strategic loser.

The regime’s regional defeats peaked with the fall of its key Syrian ally, Bashar al-Assad. Since then, Tehran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” has continued to collapse.

Inside Iran, “resistance units” linked to the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the country’s main opposition movement, continue to fuel the fight against the regime. The ruling theocracy has not faced such vulnerability since its founding in 1979.

These “resistance units” operate nationwide, drawing brave citizens from all backgrounds — especially young women — who risk their lives to defy the regime. They burn symbols of the government, deface its propaganda, spray anti-regime graffiti, post images of opposition leaders on highway overpasses, and distribute literature to inspire dissent. Many have also led and organized anti-regime protests.

Determined to crush this network, the theocracy has poured vast resources into its suppression campaign, relying on brute force. Between September 2022 and March 2023, authorities forcibly disappeared at least 3,626 members. Nine remain on death row, and several have already been executed.

Yet despite these brutal crackdowns, the resistance continues to grow — led in large part by courageous young women.

The People's Mojahedin Organization leads a coalition and transitional government-in-waiting known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran. Maryam Rajavi, the NCRI’s president-elect, has long championed a 10-point plan for Iran’s future. Her vision includes free elections, abolishing the death penalty, ensuring gender equality, establishing an independent judiciary, promoting a free-market economy, and creating a secular, democratic, non-nuclear nation that coexists peacefully with the world.

In November and December, Rajavi addressed the European Parliament and the U.S. Congress, outlining a road map for Iran’s first free and fair elections. She also detailed plans for establishing a permanent constitution and governing system.

She has repeatedly emphasized that the Council of Resistance does not seek military intervention or financial support from the West. Thousands of Iranian expatriates will gather in Paris on Saturday to amplify this message.

Given his prior Iran strategy and recent statements ahead of his second term, President Trump should welcome this message.

By imposing comprehensive sanctions on Iran’s oil and gas exports, rejecting the regime’s legitimacy, and recognizing the Iranian people's right to resist, the United States and its allies can defeat the regime in 2025 without war or firing a single bullet.

Now that Trump has reinstated his first-term maximum pressure strategy, he should go beyond sanctions. Holding the regime accountable for its crimes and recognizing the Iranian people’s right to overthrow their oppressors will be key. Supporting their fight to establish a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” in Iran would secure a historic legacy.

Anti-Israel Groups Recruiting Celebrities To Sign 'Unbranded' $200K NYT Ad Opposing Trump's Gaza Plan

Anti-Israel groups are privately organizing a full-page ad in the New York Times intended to showcase the Jewish community's alleged opposition to President Donald Trump's plan for an American takeover of Gaza, describing it as "ethnic cleansing," the Washington Free Beacon has learned.

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Donald Trump and the Baby-Faced Bulldozers

It wasn't long ago when Barack Obama's young aides were the darlings of D.C. media. The "Obama 20-somethings," the New York Times wrote in 2010, had "grown more comfortable and confident, reshaping the city around them in their image—idealistic, earnest, geeky, understated, wise-cracking." Fifteen years later, Donald Trump is leading a youth revolution of his own—and the Left isn't so happy.

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Trump Slaps Sanctions on Anti-Israel International Criminal Court

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday sanctioning the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its efforts to prosecute America and its allies, primarily Israel. The order "places financial and visa sanctions" on all ICC personnel, as well as their families, according to information provided by the White House.

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Biden State Dept Privately Downplayed Use of 'Jihad' and 'Occupation' in UNRWA-Made Study Materials, Saying Only 'Some Other Audiences' View the Terms as 'Inappropriate'

When the Biden administration resumed funding to the United Nations relief agency for Gaza, it penned an internal memo aimed at defending UNRWA over its production of childhood "educational materials" that encourage violence and demonize Israel. Some of those materials included references to "jihad" and Israeli "occupation"—terms that the Biden State Department wrote are "in line with U.N. principles" and only "viewed as inappropriate by some other audiences."

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Sen. Fetterman: ‘I Fully Support’ Deploying Troops To Gaza

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is reportedly backing the deployment of U.S. troops to the Gaza Strip to assist with President Donald Trump’s plan to take control of the territory. “The Palestinians have refused, or they’ve been unwilling to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves,” Fetterman told Jewish Insider. “They […]

Federal Judge Admonishes Cooper Union While Rejecting College’s Effort to Dismiss Anti-Semitism Case

A federal judge rejected the Cooper Union’s request to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Jewish students alleging the New York college violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by failing to protect them from anti-Semitic attacks.

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Trump suggests America will take over Gaza Strip and expel residents



President Donald Trump suggested during a press briefing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening that the United States will "take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too."

On his first day in office, Trump suggested that "some beautiful things can be done" with the Gaza Strip, a 140.9-square-mile stretch of war-torn coastal land that has a "phenomenal location on the sea, the best weather" but presently looks like a "massive demolition site."

Trump noted in his prepared remarks at the briefing Tuesday that Gaza's over 1.8 million Palestinian residents should be sent to "other countries of interest with humanitarian hearts" at the expense of neighboring countries.

'Do a real job. Do something different.'

"The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is because they have no alternative," said Trump. "This is just a demolition site. Virtually every building is down. They're living under fallen concrete that's very dangerous and very precarious. They instead can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety, and they can live out their lives in peace and harmony instead of having to go back and do it again."

Trump indicated that with the Palestinians out, the U.S. will "own" Gaza and assume responsibility for disarming unexploded bombs and munitions; removing ruined structures; leveling the site; and creating an economic development zone that "will supply an unlimited number of jobs and housing for the people of the area."

"Do a real job. Do something different," said Trump.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — an outfit previously run by a British diplomat who denied that Hamas was a terrorist organization — as of last month, 92% of housing units in Gaza were destroyed or severely damaged; 69% of all structures were destroyed or damaged; over 80% of commercial facilities were kaput; and 68% of the total road network was ruined.

Daniel Egel, a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, told Bloomberg in August that the cost to rebuild Gaza, which by then had been reduced to roughly 46.29 million tons of rubble, would far exceed $80 billion.

'That piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so many attacks against us, so many trials, and so many tribulations.'

According to the president, his plan would not only mean an end to the Palestinians' "bad luck" but "will end the bloodshed and killing once and for all."

— (@)

Netanyahu was highly receptive to Trump's plan, stating that the 47th president "sees a different future for that piece of land that has been the focus of so much terrorism, so many attacks against us, so many trials, and so many tribulations. He has a different idea, and I think it's worth paying attention to this."

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's former national security minister, said on X that Trump's proposal amounts to the "only solution to the Gaza problem" and called on Netanyahu to adopt the plan "as soon as possible and to begin immediate practical progress."

Former deputy national intelligence director Beth Sanner suggested to CNN that Trump's plan may be easier said than done, as millions of Gazans might resist expulsion and international law prohibits their forceful removal.

Noting that "no Arab army is going to be carting people against their will out of their homeland," Sanner suggested that the U.S. might have to step in, which could prove to be an ordeal.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry issued a statement following the press conference, insinuating that Trump's plan is a nonstarter and reaffirming the crown's desire to "establish a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital" and its "unequivocal rejection of any infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, land annexation, or attempts to displace the Palestinian people from their land."

While the plan has been criticized by activists, foreign governments, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, there has been some speculation that Trump actually has a different endgame in mind when it comes to Gaza than he has let on.

BlazeTV's Jason Buttrill, chief researcher for Glenn Beck, a former U.S. Marine and intelligence analyst for the Pentagon, suggested that Trump might actually be attempting to destroy "the Arab status quo on the entire situation. He's ending the game and beginning a new one."

"The status quo is this: Hamas and the PA continue their terrorism to expel the Jews from Israel. This will never happen, and the Arabs know this," continued Buttrill. "But none of them will accept the Palestinians because they're all just a bunch of terrorists. They start coups and revolutions every time they they go to a new country."

Buttrill indicated that Trump might be working to apply pressure on neighboring Arab nations to recognize Israel's territorial claims, bid on the Gaza rebuilding project, and volunteer to house refugees in the interim.

Mike Waltz, Trump's national security adviser, told CBS News that Trump was putting "some very bold, fresh, new ideas out on the table" in an effort to "bring the entire region to come with their own solutions."

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