Donald Trump and outgoing US President Joe Biden both took full credit following the announcement of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal after the two American administrations worked together to mediate the truce.
Nonetheless, the US President-elect has reiterated his claim for full credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying that it would never have been reached without pressure from him and his incoming administration.
Trump has repeatedly indicated that he would prefer to avoid inheriting the Israel-Hamas war as he prepares to take office on January 20, 2025.
Analysts say that his impending return to the White House had injected renewed urgency into negotiations on a deal that had effectively been on the table for months.
Trump stressed on a show podcast, “If we weren’t involved in this deal, the deal would have never happened.”
“No deal would have happened, and the hostages would never have probably seen life again, but they certainly wouldn’t have been released for a long time.
“No, we changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office, and I assume it is now, you know, we shook hands and we signed certain documents, but it better be done.”
Donald Trump
The cooperation between the two camps was “almost unprecedented,” a senior Biden administration official said after the deal was clinched, made possible by a rare intersection of interests between bitter rivals who both saw an opening following Trump’s election victory.
Asked by a reporter whether he or Trump deserved credit for the deal, Biden replied, “Is that a joke?”
Trump said on the show that Biden’s response was “ungracious,” adding, “He didn’t do anything!”
Also, Lawrence Korb, a former US Assistant Secretary of Defence, stressed that Biden “can take credit” for the recently announced ceasefire deal, as the “provisions in it are the ones he pushed.”
However, he added that the idea that Biden’s administration solved the issue is “not correct.”
“What I think what happened is that when [Biden] put [the deal] forward in May he was basically the lame-duck President. We did not know who was going to be elected.
“I think Netanyahu thought that given his previous relationship with Trump, when Trump came in, he could get even more aggressive. I think what surprised him was Trump, even now during the transition period, has sent somebody to work with Biden on getting the truce.”
Lawrence Korb
He asserted that Trump made it clear to Netanyahu that he wanted this over as soon as he took office, “and if Netanyahu didn’t accept that, then he basically might consider whether he would continue to send him the same amount of aid that’s being sent.”
Arab Americans Pleased With Trump’s Intervention
Meanwhile, Trump’s role in Gaza ceasefire fueled Arab American anger with Biden.
After overwhelmingly backing Democrats in previous elections, many Arab American voters turned against the party and its candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, in November’s race because of their support for Israel’s war.
While many Arab voters say it is too early to celebrate the fragile ceasefire agreement, they stress that Trump’s intervention shows that they were right to abandon Harris.
As both Trump and Biden claimed credit for the ceasefire agreement on Wednesday, the incoming President asserted that the “epic” deal would not have been reached had he not won the elections in November.
It is difficult, however, to assess the extent of Trump’s role in behind-the-scenes diplomacy.
Nonetheless, several Israeli media reports have indicated that Trump was decisive in getting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to the pact, which will lead to the release of Israeli captives in Gaza as well as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Trump sent his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with mediators in Qatar and Netanyahu in Israel last week.
Notably, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani thanked Witkoff by name when announcing the deal on Wednesday.
