The Secretary of State interrupted the President during a meeting on Antifa: We need you to approve a post, so we can announce the deal first.
When Secretary of State Marco Rubio interrupted President Trump during a White House meeting on Antifa on Wednesday afternoon, everyone knew something was about to happen. Rubio whispered in his ear and handed him a piece of paper, which was photographed by Associated Press photojournalist Evan Vucci. Trump pursed his lips, nodded, seemingly satisfied. Written in pen on the paper was: Very close. And then: We need you to approve a post on Social Truth soon so we can announce the deal first. Then, before leaving the State Dining Room, Trump said he was ready to travel to the Middle East, either Saturday night or Sunday: stops could include Egypt and Israel (although he didn't rule out Gaza when asked by reporters). The White House said he might leave after his annual hospital checkup scheduled for Friday. The president thus finds himself celebrating what may be the greatest foreign policy success of his second term.
Trump's Truth post came two hours after Rubio's note—and two years and one day after the October 7 massacre in Israel. I am very proud to announce thatIsrael and Hamas have both signed Phase One of our Peace Agreement. This means that ALL hostages will be released very soon and that Israel will withdraw its soldiers to the agreed upon line, as the first steps toward a Strong, Lasting, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated equally! This is a GREAT day for the Arab and Muslim world, for Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey who worked with us to make this Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED BE THE PEACE MEDIATORS!
Then photos of Trump appeared on the White House's social media with the caption: President of Peace. It's no secret that Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize, which is announced this Friday: several experts have expressed doubts that he will get it this time around, but if he brings home this result in the Middle East, he has an excellent chance for the future.
PHASE ONE
It was not in Netanyahu's plans to sign the 20-point agreement wanted by Trump on September 29. It happened after eight months of stalemate since the beginning of Trump's mandate (he had repeatedly promised that peace in Gaza was near, but the objective had eluded him several times, as in Ukraine).
The result of phase one comes less than a month after Israel's attack in Qatar to hit the leaders of Hamas, an episode that had raised fears that the situation was now out of control and provoked the anger of the Americans and Qataris. The day before that attack, Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner had discussed a peace plan for Gaza in Miami with Netanyahu's right-hand man, Ron Dermer, to present to Qatar. Dermer had apparently kept quiet about those military plans. But the attack was a failure: it didn't kill the Hamas leadership meeting in Qatar, and the American president then used it to put pressure on Netanyahu. And the leaders of Arab and Muslim countries did the same with Hamas. The Arab leaders also drafted a list of demands for Israel, which they discussed with Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in late September. Trump told Netanyahu that he could neither annex the West Bank nor expel all Palestinians from Gaza. When he came to the White House, he forced Qatar to apologize, with which the United States has signed an important security memorandum. Trump employed his most trusted advisors in the negotiations : his friend Witkoff, a real estate investor, and his son-in-law Kushner, who, after Hamas approved the plan last Friday (albeit with conditions that the White House has decided to ignore for now), arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to fill in the remaining gaps. Thus, the announcement of the approval of phase one arrived on Wednesday evening. Trump discussed his social media post with them on the phone before publishing it on Truth. The question now is whether it is possible to transform a ceasefire into a peace agreement: these are two very different things.
In his message, Trump mentions two issues that negotiators have been working on this week in Egypt: the release of the hostages (which the president stated in an interview with Fox News could happen on Monday) and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of the Gaza Strip. The American president does not mention the other issues that still need to be resolved, including the disarmament of Hamas and the future government of Gaza. The president is cautious, speaking of a first phase and initial steps towards peace. If the release of all the hostages is completed and Israeli soldiers actually begin withdrawing from Gaza, the biggest obstacle for Trump in the future will be moving from the first to the second phase of the agreement, which will be complicated because it concerns reconstruction, the deployment of security forces, and the governance of the Strip. Qatar has explicitly stated that this agreement should lead to the end of the war in Gaza; For Hamas, this was a fundamental condition, and in fact, the militants are asking Trump and the Arab and Muslim mediators to ensure that Israel truly respects the agreement once the hostages are released. Everyone is aware that in the Middle East, agreements often prove fragile.
The moment Trump receives a note from Rubio and announces: Close to a Middle East deal
REACTIONS
Trump said he was happy to go to Israel and speak before the Israeli parliament. They want me to address the Knesset, and I will certainly do so if they want, he said in an interview with the website Axios. It's a great day for Israel and for the world. The American president says Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is also happy. My phone call with Bibi was great. He's so happy. He should be. It's a great achievement. The whole world came together to reach this agreement, including countries that were enemies.
In the enormously divisive climate currently prevailing in America, with the National Guard ready to be deployed to Chicago and the shutdown underway since October 1st, the announcement of an initial agreement for Gaza has also sparked positive reactions within the Democratic Party. Among others, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware told CNN that Trump's announcement on Truth is encouraging; I hope it lasts. Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a staunch supporter of Israel, told CBS News:"Those poor souls may have a chance to return home, and this is the first opportunity for lasting peace." United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN will support the full implementation of the agreement as well as increased aid for Gaza and reconstruction. Even Trump-critical experts like Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace express satisfaction, albeit with caution for the future: This ceasefire—if it happens—will only have been possible because Trump was ready to put pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu. No president, Republican or Democrat, has ever been tougher on an Israeli prime minister on issues so critical to his policy or his country's national security interests. In a telephone interview with Fox News this evening, Trump declared that this agreement is for the next 3,000 years, although some say for the next 500 years. But a historic agreement... there will never be anything bigger. Gaza will be rebuilt, and the countries in the region will help because they have enormous wealth, and we will lend a hand to ensure their success and that it remains a peaceful place.
