Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Gaza Ceasefire Deal After It's Signed In Doha

Despite that Thursday night the hostage release-ceasefire deal which is to end the war in Gaza was already signed in Doha, there's still been some final government approval hurdles on the Israeli side.

Israel's security cabinet has issued its formal approval, but now the deal moves to the full cabinet for final discussion and vote, expected to be held before the Jewish Shabbat begins. The cabinet further recommends that "the government approve the proposed outline." 

Via GPO/TOI

A statement by the Israeli prime minister’s office indicated the cabinet accepted the deal "after examining all political, security, and humanitarian aspects; and with the understanding that the proposed deal supports the achievement of the war’s goals."

There are still expected to be some holdouts arguing against, however:

The PMO does not reveal who voted to support the move, but Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party both said they would not back the deal.

Earlier, the government said that the plan will still be implemented as of Sunday despite the bureaucratic delays, which means the High Court will still need to hold a hearing into petitions against the agreement, though it is not expected to intervene.

Despite these delays on the Israeli side, President-Elect Trump along with President Biden were the first world leaders this week to hail the deal.

An initial Hamas statement also celebrated this as a 'win' over the Israeli military machine, which has been unable to root out the Islamist insurgency in the strip. Words from Hamas leadership praised "the legendary steadfastness of the great Palestinian people and the valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip."

According to more of the latest details via an Al Jazeera summary:

• Hamas says that obstacles that arose in relation to the terms of the Gaza ceasefire agreement were resolved at dawn today, according to a statement issued by the group.
• The Israeli media has published names of the 33 Israeli captives who are going to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.
• If approved by the Israeli government and cabinet, the ceasefire deal could proceed by the planned timeline, with captives freed as early as Sunday, according to a statement from the Israeli PM’s office.
• Israeli attacks are intensifying on densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, including in Gaza City and northern border towns, according to Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah.

Bombardment of the Gaza Strip has meanwhile continued until the deal's full implementation Sunday...

Yesterday, Isreal & Hamas agreed upon a ceasefire; it will start on Sunday.

In the meantime, Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza. At least 80 have been killed since the deal was announced.

IN GAZA, THIS IS THE REALITY.pic.twitter.com/1cjVuYmPZ6

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 16, 2025

If the truce holds, it will likely go down in the history books as a victory for Trump's early diplomacy. Progressives too have been wondering what took the Biden White House so long, given also that virtually the same deal was on the table previously this summer, and it collapsed - after the US administration brought no pressure to bear.

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/17/2025 - 09:00

'Renter Nation' Returns: Trump Victory Sparks Massive Surge In Multi-Family Unit Starts In December

From a downwardly revised 3.7% MoM drop in November, Housing Starts exploded 15.8% higher MoM in December while Building Permits (more forward looking) fell 0.7% MoM (a smaller decline than expected)...

Source: Bloomberg

That is the biggest MoM jump in Starts since March 2021, dragging the total Starts SAAR to its highest since Feb 2024...

Source: Bloomberg

The dramatic surge in starts was driven by a ridiculous 58.9% MoM jump in multi-family units (while multi-family permits fell 5.8%).

Source: Bloomberg

This is the biggest MoM jump in multi-family starts since 2016, and the highest SAAR for 'renter nation' since Dec 2023...

Source: Bloomberg

The question is - with sales expectatins falling, will homebuilders keep building at this pace...

Source: Bloomberg

Despite the robust monthly advance, new home construction for all of 2024 was the slowest since 2019.

With mortgage rates now back above 7.00%, perhaps the homebuilders are betting on a return of inflation and growth meaning home-buying affordability will remain out of reach for most Americans.

However, we do note that the more forward-looking 'permits' headline data actually declined MoM.

Furthermore, as builders respond to more tepid demand, the number of homes under construction has been trending down in the past year and eased to the lowest since August 2021. 

Completions also slowed further, hitting the slowest pace since March.

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/17/2025 - 08:50

Biden Commutes Sentences For Nearly 2,500 Americans Convicted Of Non-Violent Drug Offenses

President Joe Biden said on Jan. 17 that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 individuals, marking the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.

The latest pardons are being granted to people who were convicted of non-violent drug offenses and who are serving “disproportionately long” sentences compared to those they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice, Biden said in a statement published by the White House.

As Katabella Roberts reports for The Epoch Times, Biden pointed to two pieces of legislation: the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the disparity in sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses from a weight ratio of 100 to 1 to 18 to 1, and the First Step Act of 2018, aimed at reducing the size of the federal prison population while promoting rehabilitation.

The previous weight ratio of 100 to 1 meant that 5 grams of crack cocaine, for example, was treated as equivalent to 500 grams of powder cocaine for sentencing purposes.

“Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” Biden said.

“As Congress recognized through the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act, it is time that we equalize these sentencing disparities,” Biden said.

With this latest action, Biden has now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.

“This action is an important step toward righting historic wrongs, correcting sentencing disparities, and providing deserving individuals the opportunity to return to their families and communities after spending far too much time behind bars,” Biden said.

“I am proud of my record on clemency and will continue to review additional commutations and pardons.”

The White House did not immediately release the names of those receiving commutations.

Biden Pardons Hunter, Death Row Inmates

In December 2024, Biden said he was pardoning 39 people and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 others who had been convicted of nonviolent crimes such as drug offenses. The president said at the time that these commutation recipients were placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and “have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities and have shown that they deserve a second chance.”

In a separate statement, the White House said many of those impacted by December’s pardons and commutation were parents, veterans, health care professionals, teachers, advocates, and engaged members of their communities who had “used their experiences in the criminal justice system to inspire and encourage others.”

Also in December, Biden announced he was commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on death row, reclassifying their penalty to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Biden has advocated for an end to the death penalty at the federal level in the United States except for limited cases of terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.

When he first took office, he imposed a moratorium on federal executions while the Justice Department reviewed policies and procedures surrounding the practice.

He commuted 37 sentences, leaving three federal inmates facing execution: 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; Dylann Roof, who shot and killed nine people at a church in South Carolina in 2015; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018.

Earlier in December, Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who had been criminally convicted and was facing sentencing in two separate cases involving tax evasion and illegal possession of a firearm.

Biden is set to leave office on Jan. 20. His successor, President-elect Donald Trump, has vowed to expand executions for federal inmates in order to “protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters” and restore law and order.

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/17/2025 - 08:45