The long sought, tortuously negotiated Gaza ceasefire agreement announced Wednesday is the result in part of a remarkable collaboration between President Biden and President-elect Donald J. Trump, who temporarily put aside their mutual animosity to achieve a common goal.
Both presidents asked their advisers to work together to push Israel and Hamas across the finish line. an agreement to end the fighting which ravaged Gaza and free the hostages who have been held there for 15 months. The deal is expected to begin on Sunday, the day before Mr. Biden hands over the White House to Mr. Trump.
Each president had his own interest in settling the issue before Inauguration Day. For Mr. Biden, the agreement, if respected, represents a final vindication under his leadership of what he hopes will be an end to the deadliest war in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while freeing the Americans as well as Israelis from captivity. For Mr. Trump, the deal, for now, removes a major issue as he begins a second term, allowing him to pursue other priorities.
The dramatic development, just five days before the transfer of power in the United States, goes against the natural grain of Washington, where presidents of opposing parties rarely work in tandem during a transition, even in the face of a major crisis. But the political planets quickly returned to their normal orbits as the two sides argued over who got credit for resolving the impasse.
While Mr. Biden awaited an official announcement from the region, Mr. Trump took the upper hand by revealing the deal himself in an all-caps social media post. “This EPIC ceasefire agreement could only have happened following our historic victory in November,” he added shortly after.
When Mr. Biden appeared before White House cameras later that afternoon, he was more gracious, noting that both teams spoke with one voice. But he bristled when asked who deserved the credit, him or Mr. Trump. “Is this a joke?” he asked.
Yet the partnership, as delicate and thorny as it is, stands out at a time of deep polarization. “It’s truly extraordinary,” said Mara Rudman, who was deputy special envoy for Middle East peace under President Barack Obama. “Everyone talks about who gets the credit, but the fact is it’s shared and part of the reason it’s worked is because it’s shared.”
This did not mean that it would result in lasting synergy on this or other issues. “This is a case where the right thing to do is also in the political best interest of the people,” said Ms. Rudman, now a researcher at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.
Regardless of how the credit is ultimately distributed, diplomats, officials and analysts said it seemed clear that both presidents played important roles. The deal ultimately reached was essentially the same one that Mr. Biden had put on the table last May and that his envoys, led by Brett H. McGurk, his Middle East coordinator, had worked hard to make acceptable for both parties.
At the same time, Mr. Trump’s imminent return to power, and his blustering threat that “all hell would break loose” if the hostages were not released by the time he was sworn in, clearly changed the calculations of the warring parties. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who enjoyed such support from Mr. Trump during his first term, could not take for granted that the new president would support him if he prolonged the war during his term. second term.
Indeed, it is telling that Mr. Netanyahu, nicknamed Bibi, first called Mr. Trump to thank him after the deal was announced, and then later called Mr. Biden. In a statement, Mr. Netanyahu noted his gratitude to Mr. Trump “for his remarks that the United States will work with Israel to ensure that Gaza is never a haven for terrorists.” Mr. Biden was only mentioned in the fourth paragraph and only in a single sentence that “also” thanked him for his help.
Mr. Trump’s desire to force a deal went beyond his usual public threats and extended to constructive assistance on the ground. He authorizes Steve Witkoff, his longtime friend whom he chose as special envoy for the Middle East, to working with Mr. McGurk put pressure on negotiators to finalize the agreement. Mr. McGurk and his team were happy to receive the help and used Mr. Witkoff’s support as leverage.
“It was Biden’s deal,” said former Rep. Tom Malinowski, Democrat of New Jersey, wrote on social networks“But as much as I hate to say it, he couldn’t have done it without Trump – not so much Trump’s performative threats against Hamas, but his willingness to tell Bibi bluntly that the war had to end by January 20.”
Some Republicans were ready to praise Mr. Biden for his efforts to strike a deal with Mr. Trump. “It’s good to see the Biden administration and the Trump transition working together to get this deal done,” said Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. wrote on social networks.
Few transitions have experienced such a moment of intersecting interests. In the midst of the Great Depression, defeated President Herbert Hoover tried to get President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt to team up to solve a banking crisis, but he was rebuffed by a new leader who did not want to be tied to his predecessor. .
A plus strangely haunting example It happened 44 years ago, when President Jimmy Carter worked until the final hours of his presidency to free 52 American hostages held in Iran without help from his successor, President-elect Ronald Reagan. In fact, some evidence has emerged suggesting that people around Mr. Reagan attempted to discourage Iran from releasing the hostages before the election, lest it help Mr. Carter, even though official investigations never verified this.
Mr. Carter eventually reached a deal to release the hostages, but in a final insult, Iran held the planes with Americans on board until moments after Mr. Reagan was sworn in on January 20, 1981. That memory has not been lost on Mr. Biden’s team in recent weeks, particularly after Mr. Carter’s death last month. Administration officials and their allies have morbidly pondered in recent days the possibility of history repeating itself.
The upcoming change in political leadership in the United States was not the only determining factor in the Gaza war negotiations. The situation on the ground has changed dramatically since Mr. Biden first proposed his ceasefire proposal in May.
Meanwhile, Israel has beheaded Hamas leaders, virtually demolished its allied militia, Hezbollah, in Lebanon and destroyed key military installations in Iran. A broker negotiated by Biden ceasefire in Lebanon left Hamas without a second front against Israel, further isolating it. And the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria has only reinforced the weakness of Iran and its allies and proxies.
But the approach of Inauguration Day in Washington created a new binding deadline that was difficult to ignore. Mr. Trump said little about the war during the campaign, but when he did, he made clear that he was not happy about it and urged Israel to end it as soon as possible because heartbreaking images of death and destruction in Gaza. harm Israel’s reputation on the international stage.
Moreover, Mr. Trump’s relationship with Mr. Netanyahu has evolved since his first term, when he presented himself as the Israeli leader’s staunchest ally. Mr. Trump cutting aid to the Palestinians, moved the American embassy in Jerusalem, recognized Israeli authority on the Golan Heights and chaired diplomatic overtures between Israel and several of its Arab neighbors.
But their ties deteriorated in the final year of Mr. Trump’s term when he perceived that Mr. Netanyahu was taking advantage, and they deteriorated further when the prime minister congratulated Mr. Biden on an election victory of 2020 that Mr. Trump still denies. Mr. Netanyahu has worked diligently in recent months reconcile with Mr. Trump.
As for Mr. Biden, his own relationship with Mr. Netanyahu has been strained since the days following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas, when he flew to Israel and hugged the Israeli leader on the tarmac. Biden’s advisers and allies suspect Mr Netanyahu of deliberately delaying a ceasefire deal to hand Mr Trump a victory, in a bid to kowtow to him.
Mr. Biden said nothing about it during his televised remarks on Wednesday. But after 15 months of trying to manage the Middle East crisis and avoid a wider regional war, he seemed relieved that the end was near.
“I am deeply satisfied that this day has finally come, for the sake of the people of Israel and their families who wait in agony and for the sake of the innocent people of Gaza who have suffered unimaginable devastation because of the war” , said Mr. » Biden said.
He spoke of collaboration with Mr. Trump without mentioning him by name. “I would also like to note that this agreement was developed and negotiated under my administration,” Mr. Biden said, flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. “But its terms will be implemented for the most part by the next administration. Over the past few days, we have spoken as one team.
Asked about Mr. Trump’s role, Mr. Biden noted that the ceasefire was “the exact framework of the agreement that I proposed in May” and claimed credit for giving Israel the support he needed to weaken Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. “I knew this agreement would have to be implemented by the next team,” he added, “so I told my team to coordinate closely with the new team to make sure we were all talking about the same voice, because that’s what American presidents do.”
Mr. Trump made no mention of the role of his predecessor’s team and left the impression in his social media posts that he made the deal on his own.
“We have accomplished so much without even being in the White House” he wrote. “Just imagine all the wonderful things that will happen when I return to the White House and my administration is fully confirmed, so that it can secure more victories for America!”
