Tommy Pigott outlined how the U.S. State Department is reacting to protests at Columbia University and recent Israel, Hamas developments.

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Tommy Pigott outlined how the U.S. State Department is reacting to protests at Columbia University and recent Israel, Hamas developments.

Trump, Saudi Arabia, Biden's Decline

President Donald Trump asked Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to fully normalize relations with Israel in exchange for sanctions relief.In a readout of the pivotal Wednesday meeting for Syria, Trump encouraged al-Sharaa to sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel, tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, deport "Palestinian terrorists," help the U.S. prevent the resurgence of ISIS and assume charge of ISIS detention centers in northeast Syria.Some 10,000 ISIS fighters are imprisoned in the region, where the U.S.-backed Kurdish militia, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, is charged with keeping them locked up.The U.S. has about 1,400 troops stationed in Syria to fight ISIS.Trump said Tuesday it was a "dream" for Saudi Arabia to join the accords, but predicted Riyadh would do so in its own time. The kingdom has long insisted it would not do so until there was a path for Palestinian statehood.Trump announced Tuesday he would lift sanctions on Syria and meet with its new leader, who once had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head.TRUMP SAYS HE'LL DROP SANCTIONS ON SYRIA IN MOVE TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS"In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that we must all hope will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace," he said. "So I say good luck, Syria."Al-Sharaa and his group known asHayat Tahrir al-Sham led Bashar al-Assads ouster last year. His group was founded as an al Qaeda offshoot, before separating from the terrorist group in 2016.The breakthrough announcement came as Trump is traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, whose government leaders were widely expected to press Trump to release the sanctions to help Syria's economy."There is a new government that will hopefully succeed," Trump said of Syria. "I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special."TRUMP'S MIDDLE EAST TOUR BEGINS WITH SYRIA LOOMING AS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITYTrump said both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Erdoan had encouraged him to lift the sanctions."Oh, what I do for the crown prince," Trump quipped.Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said he was inclined to support sanctions relief, warned Israel is still "extremely concerned about the state of play in Syria."

As theTrump administration speeds past the 100-day mark, various conflicts around the globe are in a much different place than when the president took office.It has been nearly 600 days since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Not only did the act of terrorism launch a full-scale war in the Middle East, but it also facilitated a chaotic wave of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli clashes at home."We're guided by two principles that are guiding our approach to this conflict. The first is that we stand with Israel and Israel's right to defend itself. And the second is that Hamas must release the hostages," U.S. Department of State Deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital. "Those are the two guiding principles. And then we're looking at the long-term here in terms of what this is going to look like as a long-term solution to this conflict. Hamas cannot continue to exist."A New York Times opinion article ran last week, titled "This Israeli Government Is Not Our Ally," just days before nearly 80 students were arrested during pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York, illustrating that the strains between the two groups remain and the rise inantisemitism is still rampant."When it comes to some of these protests, and I use that word even somewhat lightly in terms of I don't even know if that's the best way to describe them, the secretary has been clear, the president has been clear, there's going to be zero tolerance for people that are here on visas that break our laws, that support or promote terrorism in the United States," Pigott added.NETANYAHU PLEDGES 'FULL FORCE' TO 'COMPLETE' FIGHT AGAINST HAMAS IN COMING DAYSTRUMP OFFICIAL TARGETED IN BIDEN-ERA 'DISINFORMATION' DOSSIER STILL UNDER WRAPS DAYS AFTER RUBIO REVELATION"When you're looking at that visa process, again, speaking from theState Department's perspective, there's a vetting process to enter the United States for a visa," Pigott explained. "We're constantly monitoring the fact of, are you actually abiding by that visa? Are you [a student] doing things that are breaking our laws? And if you do, your visa may be revoked."Overseas, Hamas freed the last living American hostage, Edan Alexander, reportedly to appease President Donald Trump.Israel issued an evacuation warning for Yemeni ports after bombing the nations main airport last week.While the U.S. and the Houthis reached ceasefire agreements, Israel continues to punch back. Pigott made clear that the U.S. past and future decisions to attack the Houthis are heavily dependent on Islamist organizations' actions.CHILDREN'S YOUTUBE STAR 'MS. RACHEL' TALKS TO ANTI-ISRAEL REPORTER ABOUT GAZA POSTS"The president's been clear, the secretary has been clear that the bombing that we saw was about freedom of navigation, protecting American interests, making sure we can have ships going through that area," Pigott explained. "The Houthis have capitulated, but this is about their actions."Secretary of State Marco Rubios role as head of the agency got even more complicated after Mike Waltz left the National Security Administration (NSA) to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, and Trump assigned Rubio to fill the role.Despite the increase in workload and responsibility, the State Department's deputy spokesperson says "the results speak for themselves."CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP"Of that collaboration, of the fact that President Trump has that vision, is involved with the policy, is saying, we need to accomplish this, and Secretary Rubio helping to implement that vision," Pigott added."These are men and women that are dedicated on delivering results for the American people. I mean, this past 100-plus days have been the most successful 100 days, I would argue, in history from a president."