The Trump Executive Order Problem is Crazier Than You Think & LA Fire Failure May Have Killed 17
PDS Published 01/23/2025
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A federal judge has shot down Trump over his executive order to end birthright citizenship.
The Judge temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order, saying:
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades, I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order. There are other times in world history where we look back and people of goodwill can say where were the judges, where were the lawyers?” []
He then asked Trump’s lawyers if they think this is actually constitutional and they said “absolutely it is”. []
The Judge responded saying “Frankly I have difficulty understanding how a member of the Bar could state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order. It just boggles my mind.” []
Trump’s argument to the court is that noncitizens are not subjected to the laws of the United States. []
Genuinely who believes this? Does Trump actually believe this?
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Last night, Trump sat down for his first interview since taking office again.
And, unsurprisingly, he gave that interview to Fox News’ Sean Hannity, who has been a friend of Trump’s for several decades.
And there were a number of notable highlights from that interview.
Right, some of the most significant moments came when the two were discussing the last-minute preemptive pardons Biden gave to his family members and others he believed may be politically targeted by the new administration, like Dr. Fauci.
And there, Trump implied that Biden made a mistake by not pardoning himself, seemingly suggesting that he may try to prosecute the former president:
“This guy went around giving everybody pardons. And you know, the funny thing, maybe the sad thing, is he didn’t give himself a pardon. And if you look at it, it all had to do with him.” 11:17 - 11:30
And later, we also saw Trump suggesting that he would like to see Biden investigated for issuing those preemptive pardons:
HANNITY: “Should Congress investigate that?”
TRUMP: “I think we'll let Congress decide.”
HANNITY: “Would you want the Attorney General to investigate it?”
TRUMP: “You know, I was always against that with presidents and Hillary Clinton — I could have had Hillary Clinton — a big number done on her, and I didn't want to — ”
HANNITY: “Have you changed your mind?”
TRUMP: “Well, I went through four years of Hell by the scum that we had to deal with. I went through four years of Hell. I spent millions of dollars in legal fees and I won, but I did it the hard way. It's really hard to say that they shouldn't have to go through it all, it is very hard to say that.” 47:11 - 47:53
With Trump also claiming that he was given the option to issue preemptive pardons — including for himself — after his first term, but he decided against it:
HANNITY: “Joe Biden ran and said he would never do preemptive pardons it was an issue that came up when you were leaving your first time.”
TRUMP: “Sure, he thought — he heard that I was going to do it. I didn't want to do it. I was given the option, they said, ‘sir would you like to pardon everybody including yourself?’ I said, ‘I'm not going to pardon anybody, we didn't do anything wrong.’ And we had people that suffered. They're incredible patriots. We had people that suffered.” 10:27 - 10:51
With Trump then continuing to go on for a while about the pardons and Biden until Hannity tried to change the topic, leading to this moment that went viral on X:
HANNITY: “Let me move on to the economy.”
TRUMP: “Yeah but —”
HANNITY: “Let me move on to the economy.”
TRUMP: “I don't care. This is more important because right now the economy is going to do great.”
HANNITY: “I want to know about the economy.”
TRUMP: “But you have to understand, he had bad advisors on almost everything.” 00:12 - 00:26
Additionally, on the topic of pardons, we also saw Hannity questioning Trump about his decision to pardon almost all the people convicted in the Jan. 6 riots — including those who were charged with violent offenses against police — and Trump responded:
TRUMP: “Number of reasons. Number one, they were in there for three and a half years a long time, and in many solitary confinement, treated like nobody's ever been treated. Treated so badly, they were treated like the worst criminals in history. And you know what they were there for? They were protesting the vote because they knew the election was rigged and they were protesting the vote. And that — you should be allowed to protest the vote. You should be allowed to. You know, when the day when the day comes —”
HANNITY: “You shouldn't be able to invade the Capital.”
TRUMP: “You know, ready, most of the people were absolutely innocent, okay, but forgetting all about that, these people have served horribly a long time. It would be very very cumbersome to go and — look you know how many people we talking about? 1,500 people, almost all of them are —should not have been — this should not have happened. And the other thing is this: some of those people with the police, true. But they were very minor incidents, okay, you know they get built up by that — a couple of fake guys that are on CNN all the time. They were very minor incidents and it was time.” 43:56 - 45:06
Right, and there are a few things I want to note about this clip.
First of all, while Trump has blanket-defended the people charged in connection to the insurrection countless times before, this really goes beyond what we’ve seen before.
To be clear: this is the president of the United States explicitly saying that the insurrection is a form of protest that should be allowed and that acts of violence against police taken that day were not serious offenses.
I mean you even had Hannity pushing back at the claim that invading the Capital is a form of protest in that clip.
But another thing that’s really notable about this clip is that it has been widely omitted from the coverage of the interview that we’ve seen from right-leaning outlets.
Numerous major papers neglected to mention those remarks in their coverage — including the articles Fox News published on its digital site.
And while Fox did upload the clip on their website, they didn’t include it in any of the four videos spanning nearly 40 minutes of content that they posted to YouTube.
But, going back to the interview, some other key moments came when Trump was discussing federal aid for recent natural disasters — specifically, the fires in California and the hurricane that devastated North Carolina and other parts of the South.
And there, we saw Hannity asking this:
HANNITY: “Will you give — obviously Americans want to help other Americans in need. Okay, fair enough, we do that — we got to help the people in North Carolina they've been suffering —”
TRUMP: “Well, you know that's what I want to do, that's why I'm stopping there first.”
HANNITY: “You're going to stop in California.”
TRUMP: “I'm stopping in North Carolina first.”
HANNITY: “Should the money be contingent on on them practicing the science of forestry?”
TRUMP: “Well, I think this: I'm going to put a statement out today, I think and maybe it's already written. I said, ‘I don't think we should give California anything until they let water flow down into there.”
HANNITY: “It's from the north to the south.”
TRUMP: “This is a political thing, I don't know what it is. They talk about the delta smelt, it's a little tiny fish like this. They say it's an endangered species. Well, how is it endangered? No wonder it's endangered it's not getting any water.” 29:52 - 30:36
Now, one thing I have to note here is that those claims Trump is making there are completely false, but he just keeps repeating them even after they have been widely debunked.
Right, as we’ve talked about before on the show, while the delta smelt has become a conservative talking point, local officials have repeatedly said that conservation efforts for the fish had nothing to do with hydrants running out of water.
There were so many fires that the municipal water system — which wasn’t designed to fight fires — simply couldn’t meet the demand needed.
Which many experts have also said would be true of any municipal water system in the U.S. trying to combat blaze at that scale.
And as for his claims about California officials blocking water from the north from going to the south, that’s not how the system works — as The Washington Post explains:
“Los Angeles does not get its water from the Northern California systems Trump described, and water experts have repeatedly explained that the scale and severity of the Southern California fires was not caused by empty reservoirs or a lack of water flowing from Northern California.”
And that’s not to say there weren’t major leadership issues during these fires – we’re gonna talk about that in just a minute actually.
But still, don’t let those falsehoods distract you from the substance here, which is that Trump is threatening to withhold federal aid to California or make it conditional.
A move that would be a MASSIVE change from how the federal government normally responds to natural disasters.
With some noting that recent hurricane aid that went to mostly GOP-led states was passed by Congress without conditions.
Also on the topic of federal disaster relief, another part of this interview that’s been widely talked about was Trump’s comments bashing FEMA:
“FEMA is a whole 'nother discussion because all it does is complicate everything. FEMA has not done their job for the last four years. I had FEMA working really well. We had hurricanes in Florida, we had Alabama, tornadoes. But unless you have certain types of leadership, it gets in the way. And FEMA is going to be a whole big discussion very shortly because I'd rather see the states take care of their own problems. If they have a tornado someplace, and if they... Let that state. Oklahoma is very competent. I love Oklahoma.” 7:29 - 8:04
“But you know what? If they get hit with a tornado or something, let Oklahoma fix it. You don't need. And then the federal government can help them out with the money.” 8:23 - 8:30
Though, with that, Trump also didn’t elaborate on his plans to reform or abolish FEMA.
And then the final moment I want to hit on from this interview is the comments Trump made about TikTok when Hannity asked him about China and privacy concerns.
And there we saw Trump making a… uh… let’s say “interesting” new argument:
HANNITY: “But those that say they know say it's a spying app for the Communist Chinese.”
TRUMP: “I know. But you can say that about everything made in China. Look, we have our telephones made in China for the most part. We have so many things made in China, so why don't they mention that?”
HANNITY: “Let me get to some issues.”
TRUMP: “The interesting thing with TikTok, though, is you're dealing with a lot of young people.”
HANNITY: “They love it.”
TRUMP: “Is it that important for China to be spying on young people, on young kids watching crazy videos?”
HANNITY: “I don't want China spying on anybody.”
TRUMP: “No, but they make you a telephone. And they make your computers, and they make a lot of other things. Isn't that a bigger threat?” 13:18 - 13:53
I love the pivot Trump has made from “everything China does is evil I will stop them at all costs” to “well they’re already spying on us through our computers so who cares! What’s the big deal about spying on little kids?!”
But on that note, that’s where I’m gonna end this one.
But with this, I’d love to know your thoughts in those comments down below.
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Trump has issued full and unconditional pardons to two DC police officers convicted in connection to the cover-up of a young Black man’s death in 2020.
Right, this all goes back to October 23rd, 2020 – notably, five months after the killing of George Floyd –
When Officer Terence Sutton and Lieutenant Andrew Zabavsky (Zuh-bov-ski) conducted what federal prosecutors described as an unjustified, illegal, and reckless vehicular pursuit.
And they were chasing 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown (Kuh-ron Hilton Brown).
Right, according to the prosecution, Sutton and Zuh-bov-ski – driving separate vehicles – saw Hylton-Brown riding a moped on a sidewalk without a helmet (BROLL: 0:58-1:05).
He reportedly ignored the officers’ attempt to stop him and drove off. []
And so Sutton chased him from behind while Zuh-bov-ski drove on parallel streets to try and get ahead and cut him off.
Sutton reportedly chased Hylton-Brown for 10 blocks, including at one point by driving the wrong way on a one-way street.
He then reportedly pursued the young man into a narrow alley, turning off his vehicle’s emergency lights and sirens, and accelerating.
And when Hylton-Brown exited the alley, he was hit by an SUV.[]
And with all that, the video evidence reportedly showed Hylton-Brown riding erratically on sidewalks and cutting in front of oncoming traffic.[]
But notably, police department policy prohibited officers from chasing a motorist merely because of a traffic violation –
Including, for example, operating a moped unsafely.
And so, in the officers’ defense, Sutton’s attorney claimed they were pursuing Hylton-Brown because he had been involved in a dispute earlier and they believed he might have been going to retaliate against someone.[]
But still, that didn’t explain what they reportedly did next.
Which, according to the prosecution, was to quote “bury all this under a rock.”
With a statement from the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia saying:
“As Mr. Hylton-Brown lay unconscious in the street in a pool of his own blood, Sutton and Zuh-bov-ski agreed to cover up what Sutton had done to prevent any further investigation of the incident.” []
And specifically, said the prosecution, the officers turned off their body cameras and conferred with each other, with Sutton giving the driver of the SUV permission to leave.
And then, the officers reportedly failed to notify the department’s major crash unit, as was required, or secure the crash site for evidence collection.[]
And finally, according to prosecutors, the officers misled their shift commander by describing the crash as relatively minor, downplaying Hylton-Brown’s injuries, and leaving out any mention of a chase.[]
And with all that, Sutton and Zuh-bov-ski were both convicted on charges of conspiracy and obstructing justice in 2022 –
With Sutton also being found guilty of second-degree murder.
And they were sentenced to sixty-six and forty-eight months in prison respectively. []
Though, notably, the officers remained free pending the outcomes of their appeals.[]
And now, thanks to Trump, they know for sure that they’re not going to jail.
And with that, you have the D.C. Police Department thanking Trump, saying in a statement:
“The prosecutions… were literally unprecedented. Never before, in any other jurisdiction in the country, has a police officer been charged with second-degree murder for pursuing a suspect.”
And going on to say: “The Department recognizes the risks involved in vehicle pursuits, which are reflected in our pursuit policy. But violations of that policy should be addressed through training and discipline — not through criminal prosecution.”[]
But with that, it’s not clear Trump actually had a firm grasp on the details of this case.
Right, he’s actually been talking about a few days, saying things like:
“They were arrested, put in jail for five years because they went after an illegal.”
“They arrested the two officers and put them in jail for going after a criminal. A rough criminal, by the way.”
And finally: “I am the friend of police more than any president who’s ever been in this office.”[]
And with that, there’s just like two, or maybe three, or actually four things we need to talk about:
Right, one, as mentioned, these officers? They weren’t put in jail for five years.
They were out on bail pending appeal.
Two: Hylton-Brown was reportedly an American citizen, not an undocumented immigrant. []
Three: While Hylton-Brown may have been breaking the law, according to court records, he didn’t have any adult felony cases.[]
Right, the only people actually convicted of crimes here were the police officers being pardoned.
Oh, and Trump.
And four, as far as being a friend of the police?
Well, that’s more complicated.
Right, on one hand, a lot of police officers are reportedly outraged about Trump’s pardoning of January 6th rioters.
With the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union in the U.S., which actually endorsed Trump in the election, saying in a statement:
"Allowing those convicted of these crimes to be released early diminishes accountability and devalues the sacrifices made by courageous law enforcement officers and their families.” []
But on the other hand, along with pardoning police officers convicted of crimes?
He may be making big changes at the Department of Justice that could undo a lot of the Biden-era efforts at police reform.
Right, today, for example, there’s a memo saying the department’s civil rights division must now notify the DOJ’s new chief of staff of any so-called “consent decrees” the division has finalized within the last 90 days. []
With many saying this directive suggests that police-reform agreements negotiated with cities like Minneapolis and Louisville may be in jeopardy.
And secondly, Trump’s DOJ has reportedly ordered its civil rights division to halt ongoing investigative activity and not pursue new indictments, cases or settlements.
With the freeze reportedly meant to be, quote, “consistent with the Department’s goal of ensuring that the Federal Government speaks with one voice in its view of the law…”[]
And notably, while the freeze could affect efforts aimed at accountability in law enforcement, the civil rights division deals with a lot more crap than that.
I mean, just in the last week of Biden’s presidency?
And so when this “freeze” ends it will be really interesting to see what kind of stuff the division focuses on.
And with all that, I will say, according to outlets like the Washington Post, for example, the civil rights division typically experiences the biggest shift in priorities between Republican and Democratic administrations.
But notably, DOJ officials interviewed since the election reportedly expect the differences to be even more drastic this time around. []
So yeah, we’ll see what happens.
And I’d love to hear your thoughts on that or the pardons of the police officers.
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We’ve gotta talk about the third major wildfire to ravage Los Angeles, and the potentially scandalous revelations coming out about one of the others.
So first up, everyone held their breath last night watching the so-called Hughes fire rage out of control. [B roll, 00:04 - 00:19]
With it reportedly igniting Wednesday morning near Castaic [Cast-ay-ick] Lake, about 40 miles northwest of downtown LA. [B roll, 00:24]
And thankfully, so far it’s reportedly burned through mostly shrub and grassland, as well as some forest, though not damaging any buildings. [Continue B roll where left off, 00:04 - 00:19]
But what really frightened residents was the staggering speed with which it exploded. [Same B roll]
Because in just a few hours, it reportedly consumed over 10,000 acres of land. [Same B roll]
Which, to put that in perspective, it’s been two weeks since the Palisades and the Eaton [Pronounce 00:09] fires broke out, and they’ve reportedly chewed through about 23,000 and 14,000 acres, respectively. [B roll]
Speaking of which, as of Wednesday, fire crews said the Palisades fire was 70% contained, and the Eaton fire was 95%. [Quote, find “95” and Same B roll]
But as of Thursday morning, the Hughes fire was only 14% contained, according to fire crews. [Quote, find “14” and B roll, 00:19]
With authorities reportedly issuing mandatory evacuation orders for some 31,000 people and evacuation warnings for another 21,000 in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. [Same B roll]
As well as temporarily shutting down parts of Interstate 5. [Same B roll]
So naturally people look at that and wonder, if 10,000 acres can erupt in a matter of hours, who’s to say a fourth or fifth inferno won’t suddenly pop up near me? [Same B roll]
Especially as you have the National Weather Service warning that wind gusts of up to 65 miles per hour could cause new or existing fires to grow quickly. [Quote, find “65”]
Which is what could’ve happened near Interstate 405 and the Getty Museum late Wednesday, with a new brush fire engulfing 40 acres. [Image and Quote, find “40”]
But authorities said an aggressive early response from fire crews with air support halted its progress by this morning, allowing evacuation warnings to be lifted. [Same assets]
Though reportedly it was still 0% contained and burning through extremely dry brush at the time. [Quote, find “zero”]
Now fortunately, forecasters are apparently optimistic about the next several days.
Because after nine months of no significant rainfall in Southern California, rain is projected for this weekend. [Headline]
With a meteorologist telling USA Today a 60 to 80% chance of thunderstorms is expected beginning Saturday, which could bring up to two inches of rainfall. [Quote same link, find “80%”]
Though while that should relieve firefighters, he said it may also bring a slight chance of flash floods and toxic debris flows in burned areas. [Quote same link, find “flash floods”]
And if the rainfall this weekend disappoints, it could be two to four weeks before the next chance of significant rain, according to another expert. [Quote same link, find “six weeks”]
With him adding that if that rainfall doesn’t pan out, we’re potentially looking at dry conditions well into the month of March. [Quote same link, find “much of March”]
So right now, a lot’s still hanging on the whims of mother nature. [B roll]
But as the largest blazes are coming under control, we’re learning more about what happened, or what should’ve happened but didn’t, during those initial days. [Same B roll]
With most of the scrutiny right now pointed at the response to the Eaton fire, which has reportedly killed a confirmed 17 people. [Image]
Because if you look at this map of where those deaths occurred, you’ll notice that every single one of them was in one particular neighborhood in western Altadena. [Image]
And if the reports now coming out are true, that may not be a coincidence.
Right, the blaze spilled out of Eaton canyon on the evening of Tuesday, January 7th. [B roll, 02:07]
And by that night, other neighborhoods in eastern Altadena and surrounding areas like Pasadena got evacuation warnings and orders. [Quote, find “surrounding areas” and same B roll]
But according to records reviewed by the New York Times and the LA Times, the part of Altadena west of North Lake Avenue never got an evacuation warning, and residents only got an evacuation order on their phones at 03:25 Wednesday morning. [Image]
With some, like those on the 800 block of East Sacramento Street, where at least one person died, reportedly not getting orders until 05:50. [Quote, find “5:50”]
By which time, the flames were already on top of many homes, and for some, it was too late.
Right, there were radio reports of fires in the area as early as 11 p.m. the previous night, according to public records. [Quote, find “10:51”]
And by 2 a.m., witnesses said LA County Sheriff’s deputies were driving down streets and urging people to evacuate using loudspeakers. [Quote, find “loudspeakers”]
Though you have one woman telling the LA Times, “I was outside and I could barely, barely make out what they were saying because of the wind.” [Quote]
And although some people evacuated on their own after seeing an orange glow on the horizon, others stayed put, trusting the system. [B roll, 00:15]
With one woman telling the outlet she and her husband went to sleep around 10 p.m. knowing their home wasn’t in the evacuation zone, then woke up at 2:20 a.m. to the feeling of smoke filling her lungs. [Quote, find “Ryan Ihly” and “02:20”]
Recalling, “We were 100% alone. There was no system to alert people.” [Quote same link]
And adding, “We’re all recounting, ‘Oh my God, we weren’t on the evacuation map. We didn’t hear any sirens or any people telling us to leave,’” she said. “Whoever was managing the maps or managing the comms was not on their game.” [Quote same link]
Now as for what apparently went wrong here, we need to wait for more info to come out.
But you have the Office of Emergency Management stating:
“While we cannot immediately comment on all factors leading to the tragic loss of life, once the immediate wildfire crisis has passed, there will be a comprehensive third-party evaluation of all response efforts. This review will focus on identifying areas of strength and pinpointing opportunities for improvement, ensuring we are prepared to respond to future emergencies.” [Quote]
So we’ll have to wait for that, but it’s insane to think that as many as 17 out of the 28 lives lost to these wildfires so far might still be here if things went just a little differently.
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/us/hughes-wildfire-california-los-angeles.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/us/evacuation-orders-eaton-fire-altadena-california.html
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If you have ADHD, your life could be shorter than everybody else’s.
At least, that’s what this new study is saying.
Right, a new study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that, on average, people with ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - die sooner than those without it.
And we’re talking a fairly significant margin here - the study says that, on average, men with ADHD die around 7 years earlier and women with ADHD roughly 9 years earlier. []
And this was a pretty massive study - examining over 9 and half million patients in Britain’s National Health Service primary care practices. []
Just over 30,000 of whom had been diagnosed with ADHD.
Notably, a senior author on this study said that it’s unlikely ADHD itself is the actual cause of these premature deaths. []
Rather, they found that those with ADHD are twice as likely as the general population to smoke or abuse alcohol. []
And they are also far more likely to have autism, self-harming behaviors, and personality disorders.
With Joshua Stott, a professor of aging and clinical psychology at University College London and a senior author of the study, saying that adults with ADHD, quote,
“… find it harder to manage impulses, and have more risky behaviors.”
With Dr. Stott adding,
“It’s a big number, and it is worrying. I see it as likely to be more about health inequality than anything else. But it’s quite a big health inequality.” []
It is worth noting that the team did offer some words of caution regarding their findings - noting that ADHD is severely underdiagnosed and the people in their study may be among the more severely affected. []
So their results could be over-estimated. []
And while this study is the first of its kind for how they came to these conclusions, it isn’t the first to do so entirely.
A 2022 meta-analysis in JAMA Pediatrics found that deaths from unnatural causes - like accidents or suicide - were nearly 3 times higher for those with ADHD. []
And a 2019 study concluded that adults diagnosed with ADHD as children had a life expectancy that was just over 8 years shorter than the general population. []
With Russel Barkley, who was the lead author on that 2019 study, saying that the data makes it clear that ADHD is a lifelong issue, not just a childhood problem.
Adding,
“To me, the best analog is diabetes. This is a disorder that you’ve got to manage, like high blood pressure, like cholesterol and diabetes. You’ve got to treat this for life.” []
But Dr. Stott says that, with a greater understanding of ADHD, he hopes that healthcare systems will make more of an effort to accommodate the needs of neurodivergent people. []
Noting that people with ADHD may struggle with sensory sensitivity or time management or communicating with clinicians. []
And further adding that he hopes substance abuse treatment can be adapted for people with ADHD.
Saying,
“If it’s about systems, it’s malleable. This doesn’t have to be.” []
And with that, I would love to know your thoughts here.
Especially if you have ADHD or know someone who does.
Let me know in those comments down below.
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The Israeli army is now applying “lessons” learned in Gaza in the West Bank.
That’s according to Israeli defense minister Israel Katz (Iz-rye-el Cats).
And his words come as the IDF is still carrying out what’s been described by Netanyahu as a "large-scale and significant military operation" in the city of Jeh-neen.
And with that, we gotta talk about how this got started, where we are now, and also – because of the timing of all this – what Donald Trump and the U.S. has to do with everything.
Right, going back, America and American-made weapons obviously played a role in Gaza.
But on Sunday, an Israel-Hamas ceasefire partly mediated by the US went into effect.
On Monday, Donald Trump came back into the presidency.
And since then, of course, a lot of attention has been away from the Middle East and on Trump doing what’s been described by many as “testing the limits” of presidential power (1, 2, 3).
But notably, one of his day one executive actions was actually lifting sanctions against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank –
With a key thing being that those sanctioned were individuals and groups accused of perpetrating violence against Palestinians.
Right, the broader context here?
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal under international law and seen as a major landgrab by Palestinians.
But notably, the current Israeli government has encouraged the practice to varying degrees,
And in fact, over the course of the war in Gaza? There’s been especially significant settlement expansion.
There’s also been an uptick in settler violence since at least 2022 when – in the words of the Wall Street Journal – Netanyahu established the “most right-wing, religious and ultranationalist coalition in Israeli history.” []
Although, again, it’s gotten even worse since October 7th, reportedly displacing entire villages for the first time.
With Israeli, Palestinian and international rights groups saying only a fraction of settler violence results in convictions.
With Israeli soldiers, some of whom are themselves settlers, sometimes even taking part. []
And with all that, Trump’s return to the White House has been welcomed by hardline pro-settler ministers who have pledged to even further expand settlement building.
Right, on top of lifting sanctions, he’s appointed several senior officials (1, 2, 3) with close ties to the settler movement.
Right, Trump’s pick for UN Ambassador, Elise Stefanik?
She said she agreed with the view of far-right Israeli ministers who believe Israel has a "biblical right” to the entire West Bank.
And with all that, just this week, we’ve seen a flare-up in settler violence, starting even before Trump lifted sanctions.
Right, with dozens of masked men – some reportedly armed with rifles and molotov cocktails – descending on Palestinian villages, breaking windows and setting houses and cars on fire.
With 21 Palestinians reportedly being injured. []
And with that, an attack on one village was seen as retaliation to an incident earlier this month where three Israeli settlers were killed.
But also, notably, the broader violence has been seen as a response to the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
With outlets reporting that Israelis went on WhatsApp and other messaging platforms urging people to protest the ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
With that eventually escalating to calls for violence.
And then, the violence finally breaking out on Sunday and Monday night.
And so in in response, you had the Palestinian Authority condemning the attack and saying:
"We call on the new American administration to intervene to stop these crimes and Israeli policies that will not bring peace and security to anyone.”[]
You know, which of course, based on what we talked about, is unlikely.
And then, you also had Hamas calling on Palestinians in the West Bank to “escalate” resistance against settlements in the West Bank.
And it wasn’t long after – also just a few hours after Trump’s lifting of sanctions – that the Israeli military operation began in Jeh-neen –
Which notably, has long been an epicenter of militant Palestinian resistance, including Iran-back groups like Hamas.
And there, I will say, Israel has conducted these types of raids in the West Bank – specifically on Jeh-neen – many times before.
And also, big thing, Israel isn’t the only one.
Right, over the past few weeks, for example, it’s been raided by the Palestinian Authority – which is led by a party that sees Hamas as something of a rival.
But in any case, with all that, you have Israel framing the current operation as part of its larger struggle against Iran.
Katz, the defense minister, for example, saying:
"We will not allow the arms of the Iranian regime and radical Sunni Islam to endanger the lives of settlers and establish a terrorist front east of the state of Israel.” []
And with that, ten Palestinians were reportedly killed in the initial offensive.
With two more men being killed today that the Israeli military claimed were involved in that attack earlier this month where three Israeli settlers were killed.
And also, thousands have reportedly been forced to flee Jeh-neenrefugee camp –
Which is already home to Palestinians descended from those who fled or were driven from their homes following the creation of Israel. []
But with all that, we’ll have to wait and see what ends up happening with this operation.
And then, just generally, where things go in the entire West Bank from here while also, of course, keeping an eye on that fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
