As President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump both seek to take credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza, a relatively unknown political newcomer on Trump's incoming team has emerged as a key player in the deal. Key figures in the agreement.
New York real estate developer and investor Steve Witkoff reportedly played a major role in conveying the message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Trump hopes to take office next week reached an agreement.
Witkoff has been Trump's friend for four decades. The two played golf together, and Witkoff was with the president-elect when he was assassinated at his golf course in Florida last September. Now, he is Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East.
In addition to his business style and personal interest in the Middle East, Witkoff reportedly shares Trump's brash personality.
On Saturday, as negotiators moved closer to a deal, Witkov contacted Netanyahu's office to finalize the deal, but aides told the Israeli leader that during the Jewish rest day of Shabbat, The Israeli leaders cannot be disturbed. Witkov, himself Jewish, responded in "salty English" that he didn't care what day it was. Netanyahu obliged.
"I think they heard him loud and clear: It's better to get it done before the inauguration," Witkoff later told reporters about the deal, praising Trump for doing the delegation "better" than anyone else. .
“He gave us a lot of power,” Witkoff added.
Trump announced Vitkov as his incoming special envoy to the Middle East shortly after winning the presidential election in November, and while his administration didn't take over until Monday, Vitkov quickly stepped in and traveled to Doha to participate in ceasefire talks that have been going on for months. .
While he has no foreign policy experience or training, his appointment fits Trump's preference for unconventional picks who lack expertise. "We have people who know everything about the Middle East, but they can't speak properly... He's a great negotiator," the president-elect said of his friend.
After the deal was announced, Trump said Witkov would continue to "work closely with Israel and our allies to ensure that Gaza never becomes a safe haven for terrorists again."
Witkov attended Netanyahu's speech to the US Congress in 2024 and praised the Israeli Prime Minister's speech to US lawmakers as "powerful". “It was great to be in that room,” he said. When Biden suspended military aid to Israel last year, Witkoff seized on the pause to raise money for the Trump campaign.
Trump and Witkoff have known each other since the 1980s and have a close and enduring relationship.
Zaha Hassan, political analyst and fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Al Jazeera: "This history and long-standing relationship demonstrates the deep trust and loyalty that will give Witkov a strong presence on the Middle East peace document. Greater control."
Hassan also noted that while others nominated by Trump for key administration positions tend to hold strong pro-Israel views, "Wittkoff's leanings are unclear," she said. "What we know now is that he successfully helped negotiate a ceasefire, something the Biden administration has been unable to do for 15 months."
Hassan also noted that Witkov's business dealings with Gulf states could make him an "excellent broker for regional peace."
“Given Trump’s desire to achieve a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal, and Saudi demands that such a deal must include a Palestinian state or an irreversible path to the establishment of a Palestinian state, some hope that Trump, unlike Biden, will use the influence of the office This presidency is about the true 'deal of the century,'" she said.
In the final days of negotiations, Witkoff worked closely with Biden's team, including White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters this week that Trump's team "played an absolutely critical role in getting this deal done."
The Biden administration has sought to portray the negotiations as a bipartisan effort. "We have been speaking as a team over the past few days," the president said, nodding to Vitkov. But Trump's team pushed back, suggesting the government couldn't complete the deal before Witkov stepped in.
Biden administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the administration wants Witkoff to participate in the negotiations so that the final deal can have continued U.S. support after Biden leaves office next week.
One official described the coordination between McGurk and Witkoff as a "productive partnership," with the two coordinating closely in forcing the two sides to reach an agreement. For example, at a critical moment last week, Vitkov left the Doha talks to travel to Israel to meet with Netanyahu, while McGurk remained in Doha and continued to work with Qatari negotiators, Hamas's main interlocutor .
But while the Trump team has tried to portray their involvement through Witkoff as crucial, some analysts have cautioned against that assertion.
"I'm actually skeptical of the idea that Trump is putting any special pressure on Netanyahu, although I think that's what some people want to believe and maybe Trump wants people to believe," Politician User Yousef Munayer said. an analyst and senior fellow at the Arab Center in Washington, D.C., told Al Jazeera.
"I think the reality is that this is a deal that everyone knows has to happen, and the only thing the Israelis can really control is the timing of when this deal happens, and they manipulate the timeline of American politics in that way. , to deliver political victory to Trump — first in the election, by continuing the war, and then on his Inauguration Day. "
Munayar added that it remains to be seen what the Trump administration promises Israel in return.
“The question that remains is what kind of rewards Trump will reward the Israelis, especially Netanyahu, when they profit.”