Is Donald Trump behind potential Gaza ceasefire and will it work?

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Gaza
Israel and Palestine
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Middle East

But the question is not who is behind the deal, but whether Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can sell it to his coalition partners in the Knesset. A key Netanyahu ally, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, called the deal a “catastrophe for the state of Israel’s national security”, arguing against releasing “arch-terrorists” and saying Israel should instead “occupy and cleanse” the entire Gaza Strip. Netanyahu may “resent being dragged into an unwanted deal that will end the war and possibly lead to political upheaval at home”. The ball “remains in Netanyahu’s court”.

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What did the commentators say?

If a deal is done, Trump deserves “credit for getting it over the line”, said The Telegraph. He warned that if the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas were not released by the time of his inauguration, “all hell will break out”.

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“We’re on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition,” said Joe Biden yesterday in his final foreign policy speech as president. But if such a deal is agreed, it’s likely to be Trump who claims to have secured it.

Israeli legislation also goes into effect at the end of the month banning authorities from contacting the relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. This is the “bureaucratic backbone for the Gaza humanitarian operation and no comprehensive plan has been put together to fully account for its absence”.

Now Israel and Hamas are “on the brink” of a ceasefire agreement and a hostage exchange, which would take place before the president-elect returns to office on 20 January, according to US officials. Qatar, which has been mediating the talks, has reportedly given both Israel and Hamas a draft of an agreement to end the bloody war in Gaza.

Netanyahu’s office is considering withholding aid into Gaza once Trump returns to the White House, said The Times of Israel, as it is a “key source of income” for Hamas. That will risk everyone’s lives in Gaza.

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