What Joe Biden couldn’t accomplish in a year, Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy did in one meeting. Outgoing US President Joe Biden failed to make headway toward a cease-fire agreement in Gaza throughout the year, while newly elected President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy did so in a single meeting. The Times of Israel reports that Arab authorities share this viewpoint.
What Joe Biden couldn’t accomplish: According to the source, a “intense” meeting with Trump’s future Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, reportedly resulted in progress in cease-fire negotiations. Two days following the meeting, Israel and Hamas reached a fundamental understanding on a hostage situation.
Steve Witkoff has been in the Middle East for a week, working on cease-fire discussions. He is seeking to reach an agreement before Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Saturday to kick off the week. According to two Arab officials who spoke anonymously to the Times of Israel, Witkoff encouraged Netanyahu throughout the discussion to accept major compromises required for the accord.
The two officials added that two days after the meeting, on Monday night, the mediation teams between Israel and Hamas declared that they had reached an agreement in principle on the proposed accord. Since then, both parties have been working to formalize the terms of the agreement’s implementation.
Meanwhile, following the meeting between Netanyahu and Trump’s envoy, Qatar finalized the agreement after protracted deliberations from Sunday late to early Monday morning. The meetings, which included Trump’s envoy, were declared a “success.”
According to Israel’s KAN Radio, an Israeli official has informed both Israeli and Hamas representatives in Qatar of a draft agreement. The group has already informed Israeli leaders about the details.
What Joe Biden couldn’t accomplish..
