A relatively unknown political newcomer to Trump’s incoming team has emerged as a key player in sealing the deal as both American President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump attempt to take credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Apparently, New York real estate developer and investor Steve Witkoff was instrumental in convincing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Trump desired the deal by the time he takes office next week.
Trump has known Witkoff for 40 years. Witkoff and the president-elect were playing golf together in September when Witkoff attempted to kill himself at his Florida course. Now, he’s Trump’s Middle East envoy.
Witcoff reportedly shares Trump’s brash personality with his business and personal interests in the Middle East.
As negotiations awaited a deal last Saturday, Witkoff reached out to Netanyahu’s office, but aides informed him that the Israeli leader couldn’t be disturbed on Shabbat, the Jewish holiday, according to Haaretz. Witkoff, who is Jewish himself, responded “in salty English”, saying that he did not care what day it was. Netanyahu obliged.
“I think they heard him loud and clear: better get done by the inaugural”, Witkoff later told reporters about the deal, praising Trump for delegating “better” than anyone else.
“He gives us a lot of authority”, Witkoff added.
Trump named Witkoff as his new Middle East envoy shortly after winning the election, and Witkoff quickly joined the leader’s team, who will not be in place until Monday, to take over.
Although he lacks any training or experience with foreign policy, Trump favors unconventional picks with little expertise. “We have people that know everything about the Middle East, but they can’t speak properly … he is a great negotiator”, the president-elect said of his friend.
Following the announcement of the deal, Witkoff promised to work closely with Israel and our allies to ensure that Gaza NEVER again becomes a haven for terrorists.
Witkoff attended Netanyahu’s 2024 address to the US Congress, and praised the Israeli Prime Minister’s speech to US lawmakers as “strong”. “It was epic to be in that room”, he said. Witkoff capitalized on the pause to raise money for the Trump campaign when Biden temporarily suspended military aid to Israel last year.
Trump and Witkoff share a close and enduring relationship, having known each other since the 1980s.
According to Zaha Hassan, a political analyst and fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “that history and the longevity of the relationship indicates deep trust and loyalty,” giving Witcoff a longer leash to maneuver on the Middle East peace file.
Hassan also noted that while others Trump has nominated to key roles in his administration have tended to have strong pro-Israel views, “Witcoff’s proclivities aren’t yet clear”, she said. “What we do know now is that he successfully helped negotiate a ceasefire, something the Biden administration couldn’t do for 15 months”.
Hassan also cited Witcoff’s history of business dealing with Gulf states as evidence that he might be a “good broker for regional peace.”
Some hope that Trump, in contrast to Biden, will use the power of the presidency to advance a true “deal of the century” given Trump’s desire to bring about a Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement and Saudi Arabia’s requirement that such a deal must include a Palestinian state or an irreversible path to one.
Political timing
During the final days of negotiations, Witkoff worked closely with Biden’s team, including White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk. Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters this week that Trump’s team had played a “absolute key to getting this deal over the line.”
The Biden administration has tried to represent the negotiations as bipartisan. “For the past few days, we have been speaking as one team”, the president said in a nod to Witkoff. But Trump’s team has pushed back, suggesting that the administration couldn’t get the deal done until Witkoff intervened.
Under the condition of anonymity, Biden administration officials who spoke to The Associated Press suggested Witkoff should be involved in the negotiations so that the US can continue to support the outcome agreement after Biden leaves office next week.
One official described the collaboration between McGurk and Witkoff as a “fruitful partnership” that the two worked closely together to persuade each other to agree. At a critical point last week, for instance, Witkoff left talks in Doha for Israel to meet Netanyahu, while McGurk stayed in Doha and continued to work with Qatari negotiators, who were chief interlocutors with Hamas.
But while Trump’s team have sought to portray their involvement, through Witkoff, as essential, some analysts cautioned against that narrative.
Even though I believe Trump might put any particular pressure on Netanyahu, I’m skeptical, according to Yousef Munayyer, a senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, that some people would like to believe.
The Israelis were the only ones who could control the timing of this deal, according to the author, who maneuvered in such a way around American politics to win Trump’s election, by keeping the conflict in motion, and then on his inauguration day.
What the Trump administration promised to Israel in return is still undetermined, Munayyer said.
What kind of reward will Trump offer to Israelis, and specifically Netanyahu, when they come to cash in?
Source: Aljazeera
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