US President Donald Trump, who likes to be called "peacemaker-in-chief” and also boasts openly about it, has pulled off what many nations together could not when it comes to settling the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza.
Trump on Thursday announced that both Israel and Hamas signed the peace deal ending two years of relentless conflict that has killed more than 68,000 people and injured more than 160,000, with thousands more trapped under the rubble in Gaza.
How did he manage to get both sides to agree to a ceasefire?
- Pressure on Israel
- Threat to Hamas
- Humanitarian crisis vs Hostage crisis
- Diplomatic isolation and international pressure
This came after Marco Rubio interrupted a televised meeting at the White House to hand a note to Trump, signalling the Gaza deal was happening.
Trump then announced on his Truth Social account, "BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!"
While the incoming deal was announced in the presence of the media, the real efforts had been happening behind the scenes, as Trump increased pressure on a reluctant Benjamin Netanyahu and won the Arab support.
It was somewhat surprising for many, as Trump had pledged to back Israel when he hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 29 last month.
Trump said that if Hamas did not accept the plan, then Israel would have his "full backing to finish the job" and destroy the Palestinian militant group.
What appeared to be firm-toned rhetoric against Hamas in public was actually, in hindsight, to increase pressure on Netanyahu to force Israel to make a peace deal.
Trump played smart with the Arabs, including Muslim majority nations and Israel, when he introduced the 20-point agenda to end the war in Gaza.
Before consulting Israeli officials, he had already received a positive response from the Arab leaders, which ultimately left no choice for the Israeli Prime Minister but to accept the deal.
When Netanyahu was handed a draft resolution of the 20-point peace plan by Trump himself, he encountered points laid out in the proposal that were previously non-negotiable to Israel, including the establishment of the Palestinian state.
Basically, it was the attack on Qatar, which not only hastened the peace efforts but also allowed Arabs to unite against Israel in the wake of unilateral aggression over the country that was mediating the ceasefire talks.
Also read: Israel and Hamas agree on first phase of Gaza peace plan
Experts believe that it was the Qatar attack which weakened Israel’s position, since Qatar remains an important ally of the US in the Middle East.
Trump took the initiative when he called the Emir of Qatar to make Netanyahu apologise to the Gulf nation over their attacks.
While there were assertions that Netanyahu would not apologise since he had said so, Trump apparently left him with no choice in the White House.
As per inside sources, a senior Qatari diplomat was in the room for the call to make sure the Israeli premier stuck to the script. Trump also signed an executive order extending the US security guarantees to Qatar.
The decision to strike Doha had complicated Israel’s position and infuriated the Trump administration over the provocative and diplomatically suicidal move.
Trump’s patience, according to US foreign policy experts and political commentators, had run out with Netanyahu’s reluctance to accept a deal that would see an end to the ongoing war in Gaza.
It is indeed an accomplishment that would etch Donald Trump’s name in recognition books in times to come.
However, knowing his fluctuating style of leadership and obsession with being a peacemaker-in-chief, the war in Ukraine might also see a breakthrough in the coming days.
It is for sure a diplomatic slippery slope for the US government to tread on at the moment, since the Israeli government has often retracted from committing to the peace deal several times before.
However, settling issues like the wars in Gaza and Ukraine is also a pivotal moment for world history, especially in the context when the realignment of global affairs appears to be real.
By Waseem Ahmad Ganie
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