The Israeli-Middle East Interaction after the October 7, 2023 Violations: Witkoff’s Breakup and Israel’s Promise
Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined the yearlong ceasefire negotiations in their final weeks last month and helped push the agreement over the finish line. After meeting with Netanyahu in Israel, he was expected to start talks on the second phase in Washington on Monday.
Negotiations have begun for a second phase of a ceasefire deal that would end the war with Hamas and return all Israeli hostages from captivity in Gaza. Also on the table is a bargain that could reshape the Middle East for decades to come: a deal to open Israel’s diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
Hamas is to release a number of hostages in exchange for the release of over 2,000 Palestinians in the first phase of the truce. Israeli forces have pulled back from most areas and allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to devastated northern Gaza.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to local health authorities who do not say how many of the dead were fighters. The war left large parts of several cities in ruins and displaced a lot of Gaza’s population.
He said that by working together, they could “strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength.”
In a statement released ahead of his departure on Sunday, Netanyahu said they would discuss “victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components,” referring to Iran’s alliance of militant groups across the region, including Hamas.
He was credited with helping to broker the truce in the Middle East and has been a supporter of Israel. The deal has halted the fighting and led to the release of 18 hostages who had been held for over 15 months, as well as hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Netanyahu, who is under mounting pressure from far-right governing partners to resume the war after the first phase ends in early March, has said Israel is still committed to victory over Hamas and the return of all the hostages captured in the militants’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.
Israeli-Saudi Relations after the July 17th Mideast War: The Trump-President Correspondence with a “Major” Foreign Leader
Tuesday will be Trump’s first with a foreign leader since he returned to office. It comes as U.S. and Arab mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of an agreement to wind down the war in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of militant-held hostages.
But the kingdom, which resisted similar entreaties from the Biden administration, has said it would only agree to such a deal if the war ends and there is a credible pathway to a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
The Israeli leader’s allies, however, have threatened to bring down the government if Israel goes down that path — and does not resume the war in Gaza and eliminate Hamas rule there.
According to people close to the matter, Trump wants to forge a relationship with Saudi Arabia, which would be a new chapter in Israeli-Saudi relations.
A deputy national security adviser to the president during his first term said he would find it difficult to satisfy the Saudi demand.
“As much as we might want a deal with Saudi Arabia, you know, Israel is going to, particularly after Oct. 7, remain very, very mindful of its internal security. It’s gotta, says Coates. The deal that seemed to be very close in the 2020-21 time frame may take a little bit longer now.
Palestinians may be relocated to Egypt and Jordan from the Gaza strip under a proposal floated by Trump. Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have firmly rejected the idea, as have Palestinians.
On Saturday, family and friends cheered as American Israeli hostage Keith Siegel was freed by Hamas. Many at the gathering expressed concern that the war would resume before all hostages were freed. Rabbi Steve Burnstein believes U.S. pressure can make a difference.
“We just hope and pray that the Americans do everything that they can to ensure that the Israeli government has the strength and the courage to make sure that we reach the second stage of the deal,” he said to NPR.
She spoke honestly about U.S.-Israeli politics without repercussions and said only Trump could push Netanyahu to seal another deal.
It’s uncertain if Israel will launch a military strike on weakened Iran after a year of fighting with its proxies.
Talshir, who is writing a book about the Netanyahu era in Israel, believes that Netanyahu might be interested in going back to war if he decides to retain his coalition and stay in office.