2025-01-16 14:07:00
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal to pause their over-a-year-long war has brought into focus comments made by the incoming US President Donald Trump and the role his election victory may have played in the two sides agreeing to the deal.
US President-elect Donald Trump had previously warned that there will be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were not freed by the time he assumed The Oval Office on January 20.
While Trump did not comment much beyond these words, experts believe that his ultimatum was not only meant as a warning to leaders of Hamas but also built pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire deal and the exchange of Israeli hostages with Palestinian prisoners. This is only the second ceasefire deal — the previous one lasting barely a week — ever since the war broke out in October 2023.
A week back, Trump had hand-picked his golf partner Steve Witkoff with no prior diplomatic experience to leave for the Middle East and broker a hostage deal at the earliest.
According to a report in The Guardian, Witkoff was asked to communicate the urgency to the Israeli Prime Minister as well. Witkoff insisted that the Israeli officials meet him during Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, last Friday, in Doha.
The meeting to chart out the details of a ceasefire deal was “tense” where Witkoff had “sternly” communicated to the Israeli authorities that Trump demanded the deal to be concluded before he takes oath, according to Israeli media reports.
“Witkoff is playing a crucial role in the negotiations right now, applying pressure from Trump,” a senior Israeli official was quoted by Axios.
Witkoff’s tough negotiation skills and his insistence on moving forward reportedly led to Netanyahu sending his top officials, including Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, to Doha to move forward with the discussions.
Soon after the ceasefire agreement, Trump called it “epic” and said that it could only be possible because of his “historic victory in November.”
Saying that he was “thrilled” that the Israeli and American hostages will be reuniting with their families, Trump, in a Truth social post, wrote, “We have achieved so much without even being in the White House. Just imagine all of the wonderful things that will happen when I return to the White House, and my Administration is fully confirmed, so they can secure more Victories for the United States!”
Trump said that Witkoff would be working with the National Security Team to execute the deal.
Acknowledging the role Trump’s team played in the negotiation, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “We, of course, thank the Trump team for working with us on this cease-fire agreement. We think it’s important that they were at the table.”
The Israel-Hamas deal has been divided into three phases. Hamas will be freeing 33 Israeli hostages in the first stage. The first phase will also see the release of an undisclosed number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli custody, along with humanitarian aid reaching Gaza.
The granular details of the second and third phases are in the works and will have to be executed by the Trump administration, outgoing US President Joe Biden mentioned in his farewell speech.
Biden said the second and third phases will result in the freeing of more hostages and the rebuilding of Gaza.
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