The recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas appears to have finally been reached just as President Joe Biden is set to leave office, with Donald Trump set to take credit for his involvement.
While Biden’s team credits their painstaking diplomacy for the deal, there is widespread agreement among diplomats and officials that Trump-related factors were crucial in spurring the negotiations. Trump intervened in two main ways: making a public demand for hostages to be released by January 20 and pressuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make concessions.
Critics of Biden’s Israel policy argue that Trump could have produced a ceasefire far earlier if he had pushed Israel more aggressively. However, major developments in the war in recent months likely also made both Israel and Hamas more willing to end it.
The escalation of the war against Hezbollah by Israeli forces not only killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar but also drastically escalated their war against the Lebanese militant group, doing grave damage and killing many of its leaders before an eventual ceasefire. This shift in context may have paved the way for a ceasefire.
Trump’s deadline, combined with his team’s pressure on Netanyahu, seems to have played a significant role in getting the deal done. Trump sent Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff to join the talks and reiterated that he was serious about his January 20 deadline. Reports claim that this pressure made a difference, with some officials stating that it was “the first time there has been real pressure on the Israeli side to accept a deal.”
While it is unclear whether Trump deserves full credit for the deal, it appears indisputable that he played a helpful role in getting it done. The exact extent of his contribution remains disputed, but his involvement was undoubtedly crucial in spurring the negotiations and bringing about the ceasefire.
Source: https://www.vox.com/politics/395338/trump-credit-gaza-ceasefire-witkoff