Joe Biden and Donald Trump claim the deal as their triumph; in real terms, the deal fructified due to Trump’s adamant and no-nonsense attitude in dealing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Asad Mirza
THE Israeli Prime Minister’s office was the last to confirm early Friday (17 January 2025) that a deal has been agreed upon with Hamas. The agreement, which took effect on Sunday (19 January), envisaged a pause in fighting in Gaza and led to a phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
The deal includes a temporary ceasefire and involves three more phases of negotiations related to the release of hostages and the shape of the new governing authority in Palestine.
The deal finally allowed displaced Palestinians to return to their homes – though after Israel’s deliberate destruction campaign, which increased in ferocity, resulting in the death of 86 Palestinians after the announcement of the deal, and which has rendered many homes no longer habitable. But the Palestinians of the occupied territories wanted to return to their homeland as soon as possible and they welcomed the announcement with cheers and tears.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani had said on Wednesday (15 January) that the ceasefire deal would come into effect on Sunday, but added that work on implementation steps with Israel and Hamas was continuing. Trump, apparently, wanted the deal to be effective before his inauguration ceremony.
He had repeatedly indicated during his election campaign that he would prefer to avoid inheriting the Israel-Hamas war before taking office on 20 January, and analysts claim his return to the White House injected renewed urgency into negotiations on a deal.
Reportedly, Trump and Biden both took full credit following the announcement of the ceasefire deal Wednesday after the two American administrations worked together to mediate the truce.
The cooperation between the two camps was “almost unprecedented,” a senior Biden administration official said after the deal was clinched, made possible by a rare intersection of interests between bitter rivals who both saw an opening following Trump’s election victory.
Trump had made a big issue of Middle East peace during his presidential campaign and attacked Biden’s failure to secure a ceasefire. Steve Witkoff, his surprise appointment as Middle East envoy, was dispatched to Qatar on 22 November – less than three weeks after his election victory, with strict instructions to get the deal clinched.
Witkoff, a close friend of Trump who is also known to Qatari officials through his real estate business, had suddenly become the chief negotiator in an unlikely negotiating team led by Biden’s top Middle East adviser Brett McGurk. In directing their envoys to co-ordinate, Biden and Trump both temporarily put aside their fierce personal and political rivalry – a small miracle in its own right. But the deal has added to the pragmatism and astuteness of Trump’s stature as a politician.
Reportedly as per behind-the-scenes reports published on news website axios.com, Biden and his team proposed the Gaza deal in May 2024. But, the real push for the efforts was given by Trump after he met with President Biden in the Oval House following his election victory.
Later, on prompting by Senator Lindsey Graham, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social post that if the hostages were not freed by 20 January, “There will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge.”
That created a sense of urgency for the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, but also Netanyahu, sources familiar with the talks say. Several days later, Sullivan and McGurk travelled to Israel and met Netanyahu. The prime minister told them he wanted a deal on Trump’s timeline.
Reportedly, intense diplomatic efforts preceded the deal announcement, with Witkoff travelling back to Doha to join McGurk for 96 hours of intense diplomatic negotiations. In another unusual step, the two met together with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
Reportedly, the final sprint in the negotiations took place at a Qatari government’s official residence. Hamas representatives were on the first floor with the Israelis on the second and the Qatari and Egyptian mediators shuttled between them.
Both the sides discussed and closed issue after issue, like the redeployment of Israeli forces; what Hamas must do during the ceasefire; the delivery of humanitarian aid and the sequencing of hostage and prisoner releases.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hamas came back for a meeting with the Qatari and Egyptian mediators and gave its official positive response. After the Israeli prime minister’s office confirmed the deal, Netanyahu called Trump and thanked him for his help in getting the deal through. Only then did he call to thank Biden.
This again leads us back to the issue: Who is the real winner in this high-stakes deal? Though the efforts started during President Biden’s tenure, yet the real push was given by Trump.
Trump can be described as a pragmatic, astute businessman, the same traits which he brings to his political actions. He is ready to discard the old political shenanigans, as he is not cut from the same cloth as that of usual politicians. Thus, he often makes decisions which confound politicians and diplomats alike as they lead to quick winnable results.
But to achieve all this he doesn’t give up his business goals. Reportedly Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have vast business investments in Israel. These investments were suffering from the continued war, so in a manner, he tried to end the war to guard his family’s financial interests and also convey to the Israelis how he’d be treating them in the next four years.
In sum, the Gaza ceasefire could be described as Trump’s legacy and identifies the future action plan for the Middle East guided by his financial interests.
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Asad Mirza is a New Delhi-based senior journalist and a media consultant. The views expressed here are the author’s personal and Clarion India does not necessarily share or subscribe to them. He can be contacted at asad.mirza.nd@gmail.com
