Donald Trump has given the Israeli government a deadline to finalise a ceasefire and hostage deal to end the war in Gaza before he takes office next week, according to a senior Israeli official, as negotiations continued in Qatar on Monday with all sides claiming an agreement is close.
The president-elect has publicly warned that there would be “hell to pay” unless Israeli hostages in Gaza were freed by the time of his inauguration on 20 January, which was widely interpreted as a message to Hamas.
But a source with knowledge of discussions said a similar message was also privately conveyed to Israeli leaders, with the demand described as a “red line.”
Israeli leaders are said to be wary of crossing the unpredictable Trump and would try to comply, with Mossad chief David Barnea leading negotiations in Qatar, and a deal likely to be in place by next week.
The i Paper has requested comment from Trump’s team.
A Palestinian source with connections to the mediation teams said both sides understand “that a deal should be done by the end of the week.”
Israeli media reported in October before Trump’s election victory that he had asked Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to end the war before he took office.
Yossi Melman, an Israeli veteran security analyst and journalist, said the arrival of Trump was driving progress in talks, with Netanyahu “afraid” of the president-elect.
“If there is a deal, and there is, the only person in the world to thank is Trump,” he posted on social media. “The only person Bibi (Netanyahu) is afraid of is Trump.”
“When Trump said that the gates of hell would open if there was no deal, most thought he was threatening Hamas. But it is actually a threat to Bibi.”
Trump’s team are working alongside members of the outgoing Biden administration with all parties working towards the 20 January deadline.
A boy passes by a painting calling for the return of Israeli hostages (Photo: Amir Levy/Getty)Both sides expressed confidence that a deal was close on the sidelines of talks in Doha on Tuesday.
An Israeli diplomat in Qatar told Reuters negotiation had reached a critical phase. “We are close, we are not there yet,” they said. Hamas said talks were in the “final stage.”
A spokesperson for mediators Qatar’s foreign ministry said an agreement was “closer than at any time in the past.”
An initial 33 Israeli hostages classed as vulnerable are to be released by Hamas in the first phase of the deal during an initial six-week truce, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails.
Israeli forces would begin to withdraw from Gaza, and more aid would be allowed into the territory.
Gaza ceasefire deal 'closer than ever' after 'breakthrough' in Doha
Read MoreDuring the truce, the sides are to begin negotiations for a second and third phase that would see Israeli soldiers and the bodies of hostages exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners, leading to a formal end of the war.
Beleaguered Palestinians in Gaza, and the families of Israeli hostages in Israel expressed hope for a long-awaited deal.
Rola Saqer, a Palestinian mother who gave birth to a daughter on the first day of the war, told AP: “We’re eagerly waiting for a truce to happen so we can live in safety and stability.”
Meirav Leshem Gonen, Israeli mother of the abducted Romi Gonen, said she felt there was “light at the end of the tunnel.”
The former Middle East Minister, Alistair Burt, told The i Paper that several factors had combined to make a deal more likely.
“There is weariness and internal political pressure on both Hamas and Israel,” he said. “Their publics know a deal has been on the table for some months and yet misery and death has continued.”
The return of Trump will also be “seen as a change factor,” Burt added.
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