Raw Story

by Delphine Matthieussent with Leon Bruneau in Riyadh

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he was "committed" to a U.S. proposal to take over Gaza and displace its Palestinian residents, as Washington's top diplomat was in Saudi Arabia to push the plan opposed by Arab states.

As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a visit to Saudi Arabia, a Saudi source told AFP Riyadh would host a regional summit later this week "to discuss Arab alternatives" to President Donald Trump's widely criticized plan for the Gaza Strip.

Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait will be represented at the Friday summit, the source said.

Rubio travelled to Riyadh from Israel, where he kicked off his first Middle East trip as Trump's secretary of state.

Following his meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, Rubio said Hamas "must be eliminated", while the Israeli premier touted a "common strategy" between the two allies.

In a statement Monday, Netanyahu said he was "committed to US President Trump's plan for the creation of a different Gaza", also promising the after the war, "there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority" ruling the territory.

The United States, Israel's top ally and weapons supplier, says it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said for now, "the only plan is the Trump plan".

The United States has been pushing for a historic deal in which Saudi Arabia would recognise Israel, for which Riyadh has demanded the establishment of a Palestinian state -- long opposed by Israeli leaders and potentially in contradiction with Trump's Gaza plan.

Since it came into effect nearly a month ago, Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the Gaza truce, which has been further strained by Trump's proposal to take control of rubble-strewn Gaza and move its more than two million residents.

Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.

Netanyahu's office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two.

It said negotiators dispatched to Cairo would "receive further directives for negotiations on Phase II" after the cabinet meeting.

- 'Restarting the war' -

Earlier Netanyahu said he spoke with Rubio about "Trump's bold vision for Gaza's future" -- which experts have warned would violate international law -- and about way to "ensure that vision becomes a reality".

Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which appeared close to collapse last week.

"At any moment the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people," said Nasser al-Astal, 62, a retired teacher in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis.

Since the truce took effect on January 19, a total of 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Out of 251 people seized in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

The families of the hostages still in Gaza on Monday marked 500 days of their captivity, holding pictures of their loved ones and banners reading "Home Now" as dozens marched towards Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem.

"My eyes burn from the tears I have shed for the past 500 days," said Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is among those held in Gaza.

Addressing lawmakers, she pleaded with them to "do everything possible to bring my son Matan and the other hostages home alive".

In a statement, Rubio called for the immediate release of all remaining captives.

- 'Finish the job' -

The Gaza war has rippled across the Middle East, triggering violence in Yemen and Lebanon, where Iran backs militant groups.

Israel fought a related war with Hamas's Lebanese ally Hezbollah, severely weakening it before a ceasefire took effect on November 27.

Israeli troops were meant to withdraw over a 60-day period but this was later extended to February 18.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Sunday "Israel must fully withdraw" on the Tuesday deadline.

A Lebanese security source said an Israeli strike in the southern city of Sidon on Monday killed Mohammed Shahine, a military unit commander from Hamas. The Israeli military claimed the strike, accusing Shahine of planning attacks.

There have also been limited direct strikes by Iran and Israel against each other.

Netanyahu said that with the support of the Trump administration, "I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job" against Iran.

Iran on Monday condemned Netanyahu's remarks, calling them "a gross violation of international law".

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,271 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

© Agence France-Presse

The Washington Post canceled plans to run a front-and back-page advertisement that would have earned the paper $115,000 — and ran straight into fresh fury.

The ad, reportedly sponsored by the watchdog group Common Cause, demanded that President Donald Trump fire Elon Musk, who is working as a special government employee endeavoring to slash spending, and purging federal government workers.

Now many Washingtonians and political experts are furious with the paper, which Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos purchased in 2013. It follows recent anger after Bezos announced the newspaper would buck historical precedence by not endorsing a political candidate last year.

Democracy defender and elections lawyer Marc Elias pointed out that in October, the paper ran an ad from a right-wing group funded by Musk to attack Elias personally for his work.

ALSO READ: 'Gobsmacked' senators demand to know extent of Elon Musk's access to Americans' data

The Nation's sports editor, Dave Zirin, recalled The Post's long-time slogan, "Democracy dies in darkness." He posted the report and remarked, "After the Washington Post turned out the lights. Disgusting."

The new Post slogan is “Riveting Storytelling for All of America.”

Investigative reporter Sarah Posner, who covers the Christian right, posted the ad and linked it to the Common Cause site that calls to "Fire Elon Musk." The page walks through some of Musk's team's actions that have been the most concerning.

"Since the Washington Post didn't want you to see the anti-Musk ad with your newspaper, please check out this website and share it around," she asked followers.

Washington lawyer and Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway posted the ad as well, asking his followers, "Please disseminate these images widely. Who needs to place ads in a newspaper that few people actually read anymore?"

Former record labor executive turned political activist Howie Klein thinks the Post didn't run the ad so they wouldn't "hurt Elon Musk's delicate feelings."

Freelance journalist Kaz Weida commented, "Just a reminder that as you see headlines that NY Times is embracing AI and the Washington Post refused to publish a 'Fire musk' ad that we are still boycotting mainstream and legacy media run by billionaires. They are part of the problem, not the solution."

Coders this week exposed serious security issues with Elon Musk's official Department of Government Efficiency website and now Huffington Post reports that the website has published classified data.

According to the report, the DOGE website has posted "information about the size and staff of a U.S. intelligence agency on its new website," which the publication says is raising questions about just how much access to classified information Musk and his DOGE team have.

One Defense Intelligence Agency employee tells Huffington Post that revelations about the DOGE website posting staffing information about the National Reconnaissance Office is setting off a scramble among agencies to determine if their offices have been compromised.

ALSO READ: 'He's such a puppet!' Dismayed overflow audience heckles J.D. Vance as he attacks Europe

An aide to a senator who works closely on intelligence-related matters says that while there is some debate over whether the NRO's staffing information should even be classified, the fact that DOGE is sharing it "is absolutely a problem under the current intelligence standards," especially given that DOGE is staffed by young Musk acolytes who have not gone through the security clearance process.

"These 25-year-old programmers, I don’t think they have enough experience to know what they don’t know,” said the aide. “Really, the question is: Where did this get this information and what are they doing with it?”

Read the full report here.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) expressed concern that Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is walking his party into a Republican trap.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Democrats haven't been willing to shut down the government over budget negotiations in past years — but some are now demanding that change.

Deficit hawks in the GOP are unwilling to support any budget measure that raises the debt ceiling and doesn't drastically cut spending. This puts leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) in a difficult position because they can't afford to lose votes — and means they'll have to turn to Democrats for help passing the budget, raising the debt ceiling, and averting a government shutdown.

ALSO READ: 'Don’t think the numbers are real': GOP senator joins Dems in doubting Senate's budget

Over the years, Democrats have been willing to offset those on the far right. Now, some want to stop playing ball, even if it leads to a government shutdown.

“If Elon Musk and DOGE has found all of this fraud, and waste, and abuse — hundreds of billions of dollars, as they claim — well, then, we can’t fund the government by C.R. anymore,” Moskowitz said in a floor speech this week. He was referencing the continuing resolution that has been used as a temporary measure to keep the budget funded. The upcoming deadline is March 14.

“The C.R. would re-fund all of that waste, fraud and abuse that DOGE has found,” Moskowitz continued. “Which means the only way to fund the government is to fund it by individual spending bills.”

Moskowitz spoke to the Times on Wednesday night and expressed his concern about a GOP trap, saying that he hopes "party leaders like Mr. Schumer [doesn't] lead them into it."

“They want us to constantly defend the status quo and are setting us up to do that,” he said of his GOP colleagues. “We don’t want to close the government, but if the speaker of the House doesn’t start moving individual spending bills, the other choice is to go fund all the fraud and abuse they claim to have found.”

Sens. Andy Kim and Cory Booker, both New Jersey Democrats, also seem willing to let the shutdown move forward, despite Schumer's promise that he won't allow that to happen, the report said.

Kim told "Meet the Press" last Sunday, “I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions. For us to able to support government funding in that way, only for them to turn around to dismantle the government, that is not something that can be allowed.”

Republicans currently hold control of the House, Senate and the White House. President Donald Trump said that the election gave them a "massive" mandate.

Read the full report here.

Department of Justice (DOJ) leadership “has put all Public Integrity Section lawyers into a room with one hour to decide who will dismiss” the indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams “or else all will be fired,” NBC legal analyst Barb McQuade reported Friday.

The move comes after Danielle Sassoon — who was named acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York last month — on Thursday resigned from her position after refusing an order from acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to dismiss the Adams indictment.

As Reuters reports, five senior Justice Department officials followed suit, resigning "rather than comply with an order to dismiss corruption charges" against Adams.

READ MORE: 'Unthinkable': 'Massive layoffs at VA' as Trump tries to balance 'the budget on the back of veterans'

According to the DOJ website, the Public Integrity Section (PIN) “oversees the investigation and prosecution of all federal crimes affecting government integrity, including bribery of public officials, election crimes, and other related offenses.”

In her post detailing the hour deadline, McQuade, a former US attorney, sent the PIN lawyers “strength to stand by their oath, which is to support the Constitution, not the president’s political agenda.”

Read more about Sassoon's resignation here.

MAGA activists Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer blasted Elon Musk and President Donald Trump for distracting from the budget deficit and national debt by focusing on internet memes instead.

As the House Budget Committee was marking up a budget likely to have few cuts in the next year, Bannon suggested Republicans were more interested in slashing taxes for the rich.

"So somebody's got to explain to me where these real cuts are," Bannon said on his Thursday War Room broadcast. "The tax cut for the Social Security has to be in there, has to be in there for the middle class and working class. And to hell with the big donors, to hell with the top 1%. That three, the four trillion dollar tax cut, that trillion dollars at the top."

"I think it's really great that Elon Musk is using his celebrity and his position," Loomer opined. "It's hard to really deny that he's not a co-president when he's giving these press conferences in the White House with his son next to President Trump in a very domineering fashion."

"But I will say that we need to see more action, as you just said, from these lawmakers to make more substantial cuts instead of just, you know, pushing out these soundbites on Fox News," she continued. "It's becoming very meme-like in my, in my opinion."

Loomer argued that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) used Musk and Trump as a "human shield."

"He likes to bro it up with Elon Musk, and he likes to bro it up with Donald Trump," she said. "Elon Musk himself and DOGE as an entity has become such a lightning rod. Given the fact that it's Elon and several unvetted, many would say, teenagers who are now occupying space in White House facilities with clearances to review highly sensitive information, the focus has really been on Elon Musk and kind of the hysteria around DOGE itself."

"And so you see the media focusing on things like, oh, Elon Musk Just changed his name to Harry Bōlz. Oh, one of the guys on DOGE goes by the name Big Balls. Oh, he made racist comments about Indians, and so people are getting very caught up in the memes that are being pushed out from DOGE," a frustrated Loomer complained.

"People are getting distracted by this meme-like energy that is not just emitting from the Oval Office in these press conferences with President Trump and Elon, but also in the way that Elon and these lawmakers are now interacting."

ALSO READ: Elon Musk's DOGE boys think this is a video game as Trump plots his 2nd coup

"Because of his very large financial contribution to Republicans, to President Trump, he has a hold over them, and so they're doing his bidding, and they are in return pushing out the memes and making it more of a meme narrative."

Watch the video below from Real America's Voice.