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Donald Trump, the US President-elect, stated on Thursday that the recent ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages between Israel and Hamas would not have been achieved without the decisive pressure applied by him and the team preparing to take office.
A proposed agreement to facilitate the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is currently pending approval from Israel’s security cabinet. If sanctioned, this deal would serve as a precursor to broader negotiations aimed at establishing a permanent resolution to the ongoing conflict, signaling a potential shift toward a long-sought peace.
Speaking on the Dan Bongino Show only four days before his scheduled second-term inauguration, Trump asserted that the negotiations reached a breakthrough only because of the relentless pressure exerted by his team, singling out the efforts of Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff as instrumental.
“If we weren’t involved in this deal, the deal would’ve never happened,” Trump said.
“We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” he added.
The Israeli security cabinet was expected to hold discussions on Friday regarding the ceasefire agreement, which was projected to be implemented as early as Sunday, strategically aligning just before Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
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Trump didn’t hold back in criticizing outgoing President Joe Biden, accusing him of unfairly taking credit for the ceasefire agreement. Labeling Biden as “ungracious,” Trump claimed, “He didn’t do anything! If I hadn’t intervened, if we hadn’t gotten involved, the hostages would still be held captive.”
Biden had proposed a ceasefire agreement last May with terms that mirrored the deal reached this week.
The ceasefire agreement under discussion proposes an initial 42-day ceasefire that would see the release of 33 hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s populations centers.
The second phase of the agreement could bring a “peramanent end to the war,” Biden said.
In an interview with MSNBC on Thursday, Biden said that he had not had any recent discussions with Trump about the ceasefire negotiations.
