Trump Claims Ceasefire Deal Between Israel and Hamas Wouldn’t Have Happened Without His Involvement
US President-elect Donald Trump asserted on Thursday that the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas would have never materialized without pressure from his incoming administration. Speaking during a televised interview, Trump emphasized the role his team, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, played in securing the deal.
Trump insisted that the negotiations would not have been finalized without his team’s intervention, saying, “If we weren’t involved in this deal, the deal would’ve never happened.” He added that his team had “changed the course of it, and we changed it fast,” further expressing his desire for the deal to be completed before he took office. “It better be done before I take the oath of office,” he stated.
The ceasefire agreement, which includes the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, is pending approval by Israel’s security cabinet. If approved, the ceasefire would take effect on Sunday, just one day before Trump is inaugurated for a second term as president.
Trump also took aim at outgoing President Joe Biden, accusing him of unfairly claiming credit for the deal. “He didn’t do anything! If I didn’t do this, if we didn’t get involved, the hostages would never be out,” Trump said, calling Biden “ungracious.” His comments come amid Biden’s earlier proposal for a ceasefire agreement in May that mirrored the terms of the deal currently under discussion.
The proposed ceasefire includes an initial 42-day truce, during which 33 hostages would be released, and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza’s population centers. Biden has said that the second phase of the agreement could lead to a “permanent end to the war.” However, in an interview on Thursday, Biden noted that he had not discussed the ceasefire negotiations with Trump recently.
