Who is Steve Witkoff, Trump’s man in Gaza ceasefire talks? , donald trump news

As United States President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump are both trying to take credit for getting Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal in Gaza, a relatively unknown political newcomer to Trump’s incoming team is expected to seal the deal. Has emerged as a prominent figure in

New York real estate developer and investor Steve Witkoff was reportedly instrumental in getting the message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Trump wanted the deal done by the time he took office next week.

Witkoff has been a friend of Trump for four decades. The two men play golf together and Witkoff was with the president-elect during an assassination attempt at a Florida golf course last September. Now, he is Trump’s Middle East envoy.

In addition to his business style and personal interests in the Middle East, Witkoff reportedly shares Trump’s aggressive personality.

Last Saturday, as negotiators moved closer to an agreement, Witkoff rushed to Netanyahu’s office to finalize the deal, but aides told him that the Israeli leader should not be disturbed during Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest. Could, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Witkoff, himself Jewish, responded in “salty English”, saying he didn’t care what day it was. Netanyahu obliged.

“I think they heard it loud and clear: It would be better to inaugurate and get it done,” Witkoff later told reporters about the deal, giving “better” reps than anyone else. Praised Trump for.

“He gives us too much authority,” Witkoff said.

Trump announced Witkoff as his incoming Middle East envoy shortly after winning the presidential election in November, and while his administration doesn’t take over until Monday, Witkoff immediately jumped on board and has been participating in months-long ceasefire talks. Traveled to Doha for.

Although he has no foreign policy experience or training, his appointment is in line with Trump’s preference for unconventional selections with less expertise. The president-elect said of his friend, “We have people who know everything about the Middle East, but they can’t talk properly… He’s a great negotiator.”

Following the announcement of the agreement, Trump said Witkoff would “continue to work closely with Israel and our allies to ensure that Gaza never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists”.

Witkoff attended Netanyahu’s 2024 address to the US Congress and described the Israeli Prime Minister’s speech before US lawmakers as “powerful”. “To be in that room was epic,” he said. When Biden temporarily suspended military aid to Israel last year, Witkoff stepped in to raise money for the Trump campaign.

Trump and Witkoff share a close and enduring relationship, having known each other since the 1980s.

“That history and the longevity of the relationship indicates deep trust and loyalty that will give Wittkoff a long leash to maneuver on the Middle East peace file,” Zaha Hassan, a political analyst and fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Al Jazeera. ” ,

Hasen also said that while other people Trump has nominated for major roles in his administration hold strong pro-Israel views, “Witkoff’s tendencies are not yet clear”, he said. “What we know now is that he successfully helped negotiate a ceasefire, something the Biden administration could not do for 15 months.”

Hassan also pointed to Witkoff’s trade deals with Gulf countries as background that could potentially make him “a good broker for regional peace.”

“Given Trump’s willingness to help realize a Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement and the Saudi requirement that such an agreement must include Palestinian statehood or an irreversible path forward, some hope exists that Trump, unlike Biden, will retain office.” Would take advantage, he said, of the presidency in the service of “the true deal of the century.”

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During the final days of talks, Witkoff worked closely with Biden’s team, including White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk. Speaking to reporters this week, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Trump’s team “has been absolutely critical in getting this deal done”.

The Biden administration has tried to portray the talks as a bipartisan effort. “Over the last few days, we’ve been talking as a team,” the president said, pointing to Witkoff. But Trump’s team pushed back, suggesting that the administration could not make a deal unless Witkoff intervened.

Biden administration officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity suggested the administration wanted Witkoff to be included in the talks to ensure continued U.S. support for the resulting agreement after Biden leaves office next week.

One official described McGurk and Witkoff’s coordination as a “fruitful partnership” in which both coordinated closely and pressured the parties to reach agreement. For example, at a key point last week, Witkoff left the talks for Israel in Doha to meet with Netanyahu, while McGurk remained in Doha and continued working with Qatari negotiators, the chief negotiators with Hamas.

But while Trump’s team has tried to portray his involvement as essential through Witkoff, some analysts have cautioned against that narrative.

“I’m actually quite skeptical of the idea that Trump put any particular pressure on Netanyahu, even though I think it’s a story that some people would want to believe and perhaps Trump would want people to believe,” Yosef Munayyar. , a political analyst and senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington DC told Al Jazeera.

“I think the reality is that this was a deal that everyone knew had to happen and the only thing the Israelis could really control was the timing of when the deal could happen and they Maneuvered around the timelines of American politics to achieve a political victory for Trump – first in the election, by continuing the war, and then on his inauguration day.

Munayyar said what remains to be seen is what the Trump administration promised Israel in return.

“The question is what kind of reward Trump will give the Israelis, and especially Netanyahu, when they try to make money.”