Biden’s role in Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement eclipsed by nemesis Trump Israel-Palestine conflict news

Even before United States President Joe Biden announced the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, his attempt to claim a major foreign policy victory in the final days of his administration was eclipsed by that of his political rival, Donald Trump. Was.

Trump, who will be inaugurated as the 47th US president next week, revealed a deal had been reached on his Truth social platform, hours before Biden confirmed the deal in a statement from the White House on Wednesday evening.

“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could only have resulted from our historic victory in November, because it signaled to the entire world that my Administration will seek peace and build on agreements to ensure the security of all Americans and our allies,” Trump wrote. Will talk.” They are not hesitating to take credit for the success achieved after a devastating 15 month war.

Speaking later at the White House, Biden said his diplomatic efforts “never stopped”, but he acknowledged that his administration had worked with Trump’s team to ensure that the US “speaks with one voice.” Used to be”.

Trump sent his incoming Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to Qatar for ceasefire talks.

Biden, who has been heavily criticized by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party over his continued support of Israel, said the deal was “developed and negotiated by my team” and that he was surprised there was any confusion over it. Maybe who was responsible for this? Success.

Asked by a reporter whether he or Trump deserved credit, Biden replied: “Is that a joke?”

pride and vanity

While Trump is known for his bluster and arrogance, his involvement in breaking the ceasefire impasse has been widely acknowledged except by his most staunch allies.

Mike Casey, a former US State Department official who resigned over Biden’s support for the war, said an argument could be made that Israel gave the agreement “as a gift to Trump”.

“There are domestic political considerations for Netanyahu, and this is essentially not very different from the deal they could have agreed to in May,” Casey told Al Jazeera.

Casey said the Biden administration “did no real negotiations” with the Israelis because they knew the US would eventually give in to any of their demands.

In Israel, some media coverage went further to suggest that Trump’s involvement had been a decisive factor in this success.

The Times of Israel, citing two unnamed Arab officials, reported that the participation of Trump’s envoy Witkoff in one round of negotiations had “motivated” Netanyahu more to accept a deal than Biden had in the entire year.

Although not going so far as to give Trump the bulk of the credit, Biden officials, speaking privately to US media, acknowledged that his team had played a significant role.

According to a recording of an off-record briefing posted on Was proven effective.

The offices of Netanyahu and Witkoff did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment.

‘Some goodwill towards Trump team’

Jean-Loup Saman, a senior research fellow at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore, said it was “highly likely” that the Trump team pressured Netanyahu to accept a deal.

“Trump has made clear that he does not want the war to drag on when he returns to the Oval Office, especially since the deal will actually begin on his watch,” Saman told Al Jazeera.

“At the same time, one could also argue that publicizing these pressures would give Netanyahu an advantage in political maneuvering with his far-right allies in the government,” he said.

“This could be a way for (Netanyahu) to send the message that he had no choice but to show some goodwill toward the Trump team in order to mitigate the anger of ministers like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich,” Saman said. said, referring to the Israeli visionary. Right Cabinet members Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Alam Saleh, a Middle East expert at the Australian National University, said it was commendable that Witkoff played a key role in this success and that his influence was immense.

“If he had been able to take advantage of specific relationships or bring new ideas to the table, there is no question that Netanyahu could have been influenced by his position or the dynamics of the meeting,” Saleh told Al Jazeera.

Saleh said, “It is certainly possible that this story is partly true, but it may also be exaggerated in terms of its significance.”

“Politically, the timing may be intended to set the stage for the Trump team to be more effective on Middle East peace issues – something to keep in mind as this develops.”

For Biden, the shadow of his role in the Gaza ceasefire is reminiscent of the political fate of 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 administration of Ronald Reagan to secure the release of 52 Americans who were being held captive at the US Embassy in Iran.

After remaining inside the embassy for 444 days, the Americans, whose holdings had contributed to Carter’s low public approval before his landslide election defeat, were flown out of Iran moments after Reagan was sworn in as president. , giving the new administration a major political victory.