The Trump Team, in coordination with the outgoing Biden Administration, is upping the pressure for a Gaza ceasefire deal by Jan. 20. Axios reported yesterday that Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, landed in Israel yesterday to push for a deal. A senior Israeli official said Witkoff delivered a message to the prime minister of Qatar in their meeting in Doha on Friday that Trump wants to see a deal within days. Witkoff also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday and stressed Trump’s goal of reaching a deal by his inauguration.
During the meeting, members of the Israeli negotiations team and President Biden’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, who joined by phone from Doha, discussed the status of the negotiations, Netanyahu’s office said. Afterward Netanyahu instructed Mossad Director Barnea, the Director of Shin Bet Ronen Bar and IDF general Nitzan Alon to travel to Doha immediately where talks are ongoing.
