The announcement on Gaza between Israel and Hamas just five days before the inauguration of Donald Trump as the President of USA on January 20 has baffled many leaders of the peace movement as also left liberal political analysts as to how to properly assess the policies of this hard far right Republican. What Democratic President Joe Biden could not accomplish in the last fifteen months since the Hamas-Israel war began on October 7, 2023, Trump did it in few weeks after his election as U.S. President in November 4 elections last year. He did the job before taking over power formally.
In the Israel-Palestine war so far, more than 1200 Israelis have been killed while the Palestinians killed number around 46,000 including mostly women and children. President Biden continued to aid Israel and despite efforts by the Democratic administration in the recent weeks, nothing concrete emerged. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was firm in continuing the genocide and he was strongly supported by the Israeli defence forces which talked of driving out every single Palestinian from Gaza.
But the scenario changed after November elections with Trump taking the initiative to end the war in the Middle East. And in the last five days, Trump advisers initiated the final offensive against Netanyahu to compel him to agree to the truce days before Trump’s official take over. On Friday last, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steven Witkoff made a call to Netanyahu from Doha and told the Israeli PM that he would be meeting him on Saturday morning. Shabbat was on , the Jews generally take it easy during this holy period. PM’s office told him that the U.S. envoy could meet the PM after a few days but Witkoff said that he would be arriving in the morning and Netanyahu must keep himself ready.
As the Israeli media reported after the meeting, Witkoff gave a ultimatum to Netanyahu and told him that if Israel wanted Trump’s support in future, he should agree to the draft truce formula asap, days before Trump’s inauguration. Trump wants it to be announced next week. Netanyahu was hesitant but he understood that there was no option, he had to agree.
Writing in the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth this week, a top Israeli commentator summed up the situation confronting Israel’s prime minister and his closest aides. “Netanyahu … suddenly came to recognise precisely where it is that they stand with the new American president. They came to realise that Trump speaks at dictation pace, and they will never be able to outflank him from the right. Trump, once again, wants a deal.”
Trump took credit for the deal by giving his comments in social media on Wednesday itself. Biden government was also working this week with the secretary of state Antony Blinken discussing with Egypt, Turkey and Qatar about the truce formula. But the truce deal on gradual release of hostages and six months ceasefire had some points which Netanyahu was not agreeable. Saturday’s meeting with Trump envoy clinched all that as it was one way street. Netanyahu could not get time to speak.
Trump followed his dictatorial method but it clicked and there lies the significance of this Trump doctrine. It may lead to the cessation of war or it can lead to much bigger war. But at the moment, the task of ending the war in Gaza for the present, has been done. Trump has facilitated it, Biden could not. What is significant that President Joe Biden has done a lot of welfare measures for the American labour including the right to form unions in some industries where it was not allowed before. But he failed in foreign policy. He supported both Israel and Ukraine and continued to give weapons supplies to both.
The Gaza deal is thought to comprise a three-phase agreement – based on the framework originally laid out by Biden and endorsed by the UN Security Council. It stipulates the release of 33 hostages over a six-week period, including women, children, older adults and wounded civilians, in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.
Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each of whom would be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 convicted militants serving life sentences. By the end of the first phase, all civilian captives – living or dead – would be released. Crucially, in delivering an initial six-week halt to fighting, the deal is planned to open the way for further negotiations aimed at ending the war completely.
The second big war raging in the world is in Ukraine involving Russia. President Biden on his own took no initiative in organizing end of the war. He continued to send weapons to Ukraine and only a few days back, sanctioned more sanctions against Russia. As against this, Trump soon after his victory announced the end of war in Ukraine as his priority and hinted that he would meet President Putin. The Russian officials have reacted positively. There is a hope that a summit will be held shortly after Trump takes over the office.
If finally, an agreement is reached with President Putin, whatever be the conditions, that will be another feather in the cap of the far right Republicans. For the last nearly three years, the anti- war movement and the European Left and liberals are calling for the end of Israel’s genocide in Palestine and the end of the war in Ukraine, Trump’s success in bringing ceasefire to both wars will be certainly an achievement, no matter how he brings it. His foreign policy initiatives are not following the copybook of the heads of the big power governments. The new president of USA might emerge as a protagonist of anti-labour and pro- rich policies within the country, but a seeker for ending conflicts in the outside world. Certainly an interesting times for both USA and the world. (IPA Service)
Saif Ali Khan Stabbing Suspect Held 