Trump Middle East Victory Lap on Pause as Negotiations Continue with an Enemy at War with Itself*
President Trump is sending Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Egypt as peace envoys to continue negotiations over a deal to free all hostages held by Hamas.
Though the Hamas terrorist organization has signaled its readiness to release all hostages, the group has also rejected the much-ballyhooed Trump plan that includes disarmament.
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“We have to get the final word [on specifics of the deal] down in concrete,” the president said in an address from the White House. “I look forward to having the hostages come home.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal is reporting a split in Hamas between its political elite in Qatar and the fighters on the ground in Gaza.
On-ground Hamas leadership is willing to give up rockets, provided they are put in storage, but wants to keep small arms. Ezzedin al-Haddad, the on-ground commander, also says he is worried that his fighters won’t accept any deal that amounts to surrender. He fears fighting could continue even after a deal is reached.
Khalil Al-Hayya, Hamas political leader, is willing to accept the terms of the Trump deal as presented, but his influence over the fighting force is limited.
Hamas’s announcement yesterday that it would release all hostages came “with the provision of necessary field positions,” meaning Israeli forces must draw back considerably.
Senator Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., called the Hamas proposal a classic “yes, but.”
*N.B.: The Wall Street Journal followed up with a wonderful background story about the peace negotiations: Salient point number one: There would have been no peace deal without Israel’s taking the fight to Qatar in an effort to eliminate Hamas leadership.
Salient point number two: There is really no agreed-upon joint deal. Israel still wants the right to eliminate Hamas, and the Arab and Muslim nations want a Palestinian state. Neither of these points is included in the deal that Trump steamrolled into existsence.
Salient point number three: The Arab nations, upon hearing of Hamas’s agreement to releaes all hostages — but with conditions — viewed the response as a “no,” yet Trump trumpeted it as a “yes.” We’ll see, won’t we? (The WSJ story is titled “How a Missile Strike Unlocked a Deal for Peace in Gaza.”
