Biden’s role in the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas overshadowed by nemesis Trump | News about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Before the President of the United States Joe Biden even announced Ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamashis attempt to score a major foreign policy victory in the final days of his administration has been overshadowed by his political nemesis, Donald Trump.
Trump, who will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States next week, revealed the deal had been reached on his Truth Social platform hours before Biden confirmed the deal in a statement from the White House on Wednesday night.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could only happen as a result of our historic victory in November, because it signaled to the world that my administration will seek peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans and our allies,” Trump wrote, not hesitating to claim credit for the breakthrough after 15 months of devastating war.
Speaking later at the White House, Biden said his diplomatic efforts have “never stopped,” but acknowledged that his administration has been working with the Trump team to ensure the U.S. “speaks with one voice.”
Trump has sent his incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the Qatar ceasefire talks.
Biden, who was heavily criticized by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party for his continued support for Israelhe said the deal was “developed and negotiated by my team” and seemed confused that there could be confusion over who was responsible for the breach.
Asked by reporters if he or Trump deserved the credit, Biden replied, “Is that a joke?”
Bragging and bravado
While Trump is known for his penchant for bravado and bravado, his involvement in the truce-breaking is widely acknowledged outside the ranks of his staunchest allies.
Mike Casey, a former US State Department official who resigned over Biden’s support for the war, said there was an argument that Israel had timed the deal “as a gift to Trump”.
“There are internal political considerations for Netanyahu, and it’s essentially not that different from the deal they could have agreed to in May,” Casey told Al Jazeera.
Casey said the Biden administration had no “real negotiations” with the Israelis because they knew the US would eventually give in to any of their demands.
In Israel, some media outlets went so far as to suggest that Trump’s involvement was a determining factor in the breakthrough.
The Times of Israel, citing two unnamed Arab officials, reported that Trump envoy Witkoff’s participation in one round of negotiations “prompted” Netanyahu to accept the deal more than Biden did all year.
While they don’t go so far as to give Trump the lion’s share of the credit, Biden officials have acknowledged in private conversations with American media that his team played a significant role.
A Biden official told reporters that Witkoff played a “very important role” and his partnership with Biden negotiator Brett McGurk proved “quite effective,” according to a tape of the off-the-record briefing. published on X by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein
Netanyahu’s and Witkoff’s offices did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
‘A little goodwill to the Trump team’
Jean-Loup Samaan, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, said it was “very likely” that Trump’s team pressured Netanyahu to accept the deal.
“Trump has been clear that he does not want the war to continue while he is back in the Oval Office, especially since the deal will truly begin under his watch,” Samaan told Al Jazeera.
“At the same time, one could argue that publicizing these pressures probably benefits Netanyahu in his political maneuvering with his far-right government partners,” he said.
“This could be a way to [Netanyahu] convey the message that he had no choice but to show a little goodwill to the Trump team to assuage the anger of ministers like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich,” Samaan said, referring to Israel’s far-right cabinet members Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Alam Saleh, a Middle East expert at the Australian National University, said it was likely that Witkoff played a significant role in the breakthrough and that his influence had been overstated.
“If he was able to influence certain relationships or bring new ideas to the table, it is not excluded that Netanyahu could have been influenced by his attitude or the dynamics of the meeting,” Saleh told Al Jazeera.
“It’s definitely possible that this story is partly true, but it could also be overblown in terms of its significance,” Saleh said.
“Politically, the timing could be about setting the stage to position the Trump team as more effective on Middle East peace issues — something to keep in mind as this unfolds.”
For Biden, the overshadowing of his role in the Gaza ceasefire is reminiscent of the political fortunes of the late US President Jimmy Carter, who died last month at the age of 100.
In 1981, Carter, a one-term president like Biden, worked with the incoming Ronald Reagan administration to secure the release of 52 Americans who were being held in the US embassy in Iran.
After 444 days in the embassy, the Americans, whose capture contributed to Carter’s poor public approval before his landslide election defeat, were whisked away from Iran just moments after Reagan was sworn in, handing the new administration a major political victory.
