by Seth J. Frantzman
Through months of quiet diplomacy and a short window of bold, public pressure, Trump secured an Israel-Hamas agreement on the first phase of the peace plan, vowing hostage releases and calm.
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US President Donald Trump posted overnight between Wednesday and Thursday that he was proud to announce that Israel and Hamas had both signed off on the first phase of his peace plan. “This means that all of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed-upon line.”
These are the first steps toward a strong, durable, and everlasting peace, he said. He thanks Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey for their role as mediators. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” he concluded with.
The push for peace and Trump’s devotion to the hostages have been key foundation stones of the second term of the US President. Trump has shown a deep emotional attachment to the hostages, inviting them and their families to the White House.
This stems from Trump’s drive to bring American hostages home from abroad. His administration made freeing Edan Alexander, the last living US hostage in Gaza, a priority. He also freed Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli with Russian citizenship who was held in Iraq. As the peace deal came into view, he hosted Edan Alexander and the family of hostage Omer Neutra at the White House.
The US president also believes that he has a unique role to play as a historic peacemaker in the Middle East. He has sought to do this via the Abraham Accords and now the peace deal. He achieves this through his unique blend of personal diplomacy and a keen sense of history. Here is how it happened.
A critical 10 days for peace
The pressure was on to get an agreement, and rumors swirled that Trump could come to the region if a deal was signed. By the evening of October 8, a deal was done. It had all happened in around 240 hours between the time that Trump had welcomed Israel’s Prime Minister at the White House on September 29 and when the sides agreed to the deal in the hours overnight between October 8 and 9.Trump was able to bring this deal together after almost a year of focus on the Middle East. Trump didn’t come into office expecting to spend so much time on the region. He wanted to focus on domestic policy.
In fact, after the election in November 2024, the Trump team spent a lot of time preparing for the first 100 days in office. Unlike in 2020 when Trump was first elected and had to prepare at the last minute to take office in January of 2021, this time the team had a lot of time to prepare. This is because they likely knew they could beat Kamal Harris after the disastrous debate performance of Joe Biden.
For Trump, the main message has always been about making America “great again.” However, domestic policy has always had hurdles because there are many challenges to the Trump doctrine at home. For instance, from immigration to law enforcement, he has always had to contend with local courts that are not obliging.
Where Trump has always had the easiest time making decisions is in foreign policy. This is because it is one area that is largely reserved to the president. In addition he has been able to order airstrikes and use the military abroad. This means that the place that comes easiest to the administration is not always necessarily where it wants to put its focus.
That doesn’t mean Trump does not have a doctrine when it comes to foreign policy. His doctrine formed over the last decade is rooted in several key beliefs. He wants to see the US be effective abroad and not be taken advantage of. He thinks the US has squandered blood and treasure abroad and that it usually hasn’t paid off.
Foreign policy for the US is often a sunk cost of diminishing returns. The US is involved in trying to deal with the whole world, after having assumed the mantle of global hegemon in the 1990s after the Cold War. However, years of being a global policeman and “nation building,” came with a price. Trump wants to stop paying that price.
Trump has wanted the US foreign and military policy to be effective. He has also tended to favor a more transactional form of policy. What that means is that countries need to step up to the plate and show what they will bring to the US.
For instance, in the Gulf the Trump administration has wanted to see buy-in for US industries. This usually means arms deals or deals for aircraft. The same is true with Turkey. The Trump administration wants US allies and partners to step up and show that they are willing to pay into his belief in the US economy and making America strong through bringing industries home.
In terms of Middle East peace the Trump doctrine, he believes that he can bring peace to the region. He believes this will be good for the countries in the region and good for America. If peace can increase in the Middle East, then the US can focus on other parts of the world.
The US can also focus more domestically and on trade. Trump has close personal relations with the president of Turkey as well as leaders in the Gulf. He has used the credibility he has on the ground to get these countries to come to the peace table.
Trump worked the phones with Turkey, Egypt, and the Gulf to get them in the room with Israel in Sharm el-Sheikh. Trump also knows that he can strong-arm Israel’s leader. He knows that he has deep support in Israel. Israelis like Trump and the hostage families believe he is the only hope of their loved ones. Trump knows he is more popular in Israel than Israel’s politicians. As such, he feels confident he could tell Israel to stop bombing Gaza, and he could get Israel to finally accept peace.
Israel’s leaders had tried to go back to fighting throughout the year, letting the first Trump ceasefire deal expire in March. Now, Trump has shown that, via his willpower, he can begin to bring peace to the region.
Seth J. Frantzman
Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-869911
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