How the Trump Governance Sealed the Gaza Ceasefire Deal
Facing unexpected resistance, the Trump administration, through the efforts of Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt, and David Friedman, navigated complex negotiations to secure a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The initial proposal encountered hurdles,prompting a streamlining of the plan into a two-phase structure. This revised approach prioritized first a ceasefire and the exchange of hostages and prisoners to halt ongoing conflict, followed by a framework for Gaza’s future, encompassing disarmament and the establishment of a technocratic transitional government.
President Trump himself played a direct role in applying pressure during the negotiation process.”I spoke a little bit tough,” he told reporters Friday in the Oval Office.
by this week, both Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leadership had accepted the plan, with the Israeli cabinet formally approving it on Thursday. For Netanyahu, the agreement presents a complex situation, offering both potential relief and significant political risk. Critics within his own coalition have long accused him of prolonging the war for personal political gain. The end of fighting could lead to the unraveling of his government and trigger snap elections, forcing a reckoning over the security failures that preceded the October 7th massacre. While Netanyahu’s military gains over the past year have bolstered his position, the two-phase structure of the deal provides him with a degree of political cover, allowing him to emphasize the need for continued vigilance in ensuring Hamas adheres to its commitments and to position himself as the leader best suited to oversee that process.
The Trump administration is cautiously optimistic about the deal’s prospects. “I think it’ll hold. They’re all tired of the fighting,” President Trump stated to reporters Friday. His team views the agreement as a starting point, rather than a definitive resolution. A key factor in its long-term success will be the willingness of Arab governments to assume obligation for Gaza – to manage, rebuild, and prevent the resurgence of Hamas or similar terrorist organizations.
“The Arab countries made a lot of commitments,” a senior Trump aide told reporters. “They’re going to commit a lot of resources, and they’ve committed to seeing Hamas demilitarized. Then we have a kind of trust-and-verify withdrawal mechanism with the Israelis, so the more those goals are met, the closer we get to a full withdrawal because there’s a lot of stability in Gaza.”
While hopeful, the administration acknowledges the fragility of the situation. As the senior Administration official cautioned,”There’s still a lot of ways this can go wrong.”
Reporting contributed by Brian Bennett and Nik Popli.
