Trump’s envoy Witkopf “pressured” Netanyahu to agree to a deal and then “everything moved fast
The long-awaited Gaza ceasefire agreement was reached in Doha after 96 hours of tense talks with the help of US, Egypt and Qatari mediators, a US official said.
A senior administration official in President Joe Biden’s administration credited Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the Middle East. He said Witkoff’s presence was important in the negotiations to reach an agreement between Hamas and Israel.
Biden’s Middle East envoy Brett McGurk led the U.S. side in the talks. He had been staying in Doha since January 5 to perform this duty. And McGurk has played a close role in accomplishing what officials call a “very complex settlement.
Officials familiar with the negotiations said Trump’s momentary warnings drew major pressure toward the end of the negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Trump has repeatedly said the Middle East will pay a “heavy price” if Hamas does not release hostages before his inauguration on January 20.
Ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas had been stalled for months, but gained momentum after a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah in November.
The US official said the talks had reached a heated stage in the last 96 hours.
This became the main obstacle to the talks after Hamas refused to say how many hostages it held and which of them would be released in the first phase of the ceasefire.
Talks regained momentum when Hamas agreed to provide a list of hostages at the end of December, leading to an agreement to free the hostages in exchange for Palestinians held in Israel.
The partnership became “very effective” after Witkoff joined McGurk at the climax of the talks, the official said. With the help of the two of them, some aspects of the agreement were finally negotiated and it moved towards a decision.
Witkoff, a Trump confidante, traveled to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A person familiar with the deal told Reuters that Witkopf “pressured” Netanyahu to agree to a deal and then “everything moved fast”.
The U.S. official said McGurk and Egyptian and Qatari mediators were meeting with the Israeli team on the third floor of the talks site until 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday while Hamas representatives were downstairs.
The U.S. now expects the ceasefire agreement to go into effect on Sunday, he said.