It signalled that the region might be heading for a much needed restoration of stability and calm after 19 months of Israeli war against Palestinians in Gaza in revenge for the 7 October, 2023 attack by Hamas.
US allies in the region were among the first to welcome the election of Trump, hoping that he would keep his pledge during the election campaign to become a “peacemaker,” ending wars and working towards serving US interests and those of its regional allies.
Indeed, Trump’s advisers worked intensely to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, to coincide with his first day in office on 20 January, allowing for the release of the largest set of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinians held in Israeli jails and the entry of large amounts of much needed humanitarian aid into the starved Strip.
But it quickly became apparent that the new US administration’s determination to end the war in Gaza was short-lived, allowing Israel to breach the ceasefire deal with no consequences, and even encouraging the Israeli tactic of increasing maximum pressure on Hamas, mainly by killing Palestinian civilians on a massive scale and suffocating the population through banning entry of supplies since 2 March, to force the group to agree to Israeli demands on limiting any agreement to the release of Israeli hostages without any commitment to end the war or withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Obviously, the intense Israeli military operation over the past two months did not work, as was repeatedly evidenced in the course of this insane war that killed nearly 53,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including staggering numbers of children and women. Instead of admitting that the declared goals set by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war, totally defeat Hamas and free the Israeli hostages through military pressure, will remain a charade, never to be achieved by military means, the extremist cabinet in Tel Aviv even went further and approved a new plan on 4 May to reoccupy Gaza.
However, it seems that an undeclared deadline set by the Trump administration for Netanyahu’s display of military might tactics has expired. The practical steps taken by the new US administration over the past few months have reflected that the two closest allies do not see eye-to-eye on the future of the region.
Netanyahu has obviously been pushing for the expansion of regional wars, pressuring the Trump administration to join in dealing a final, painful military blow against its arch enemy, Iran, whom it accuses of backing Hamas and other groups, insisting on armed resistance against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
Instead, Trump launched direct and indirect negotiations with Iran to reach a new deal that would largely limit its current nuclear enrichment programme. While those negotiations are going to be difficult, the fact that four rounds of talks have already been held in Oman indicates that serious talks have been taking place.
Moreover, after unilaterally and surprisingly deciding to launch a military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen in order to force the group to stop its missile attack on US military carriers and vessels in the Red Sea, Trump suddenly revealed last week that this military campaign will be coming to a halt. The Houthis, who said they were launching those missiles as a sign of support and solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, did not commit to stopping their missile attacks against Israel, leaving the Israeli Air Force alone with the burden of launching military strikes against Yemen in retaliation.
Finally, frustrated by Netanyahu’s intentional policy of letting the war drag on to ensure his own political survival while endangering the remaining Israeli prisoners held by Hamas, the Trump administration renewed its direct, unprecedented negotiations with the armed group that remains to be dubbed as “terrorist” by Washington.
Those talks between the US and Hamas bore fruit as mediators Egypt and Qatar played a key role, leading to the release of dual American-Israeli soldier, Edan Alexander, as a “good will gesture” from Hamas. No Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel in exchange for freeing Alexander, and the group expressed the hope that this step would convince Trump to exert pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a plan to end the war and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza which the UN declared this week is on the brink of widespread famine.
The release of the only remaining living American-Israeli hostage held by Hamas will certainly increase pressure on Netanyahu’s extremist government by the families of the remaining Israeli prisoners, as it demonstrates again that negotiations and not arbitrary military strikes and massive killing of Palestinians is the path to the freedom of the remaining Israeli prisoners held by Hamas.
Most American media reported that the key concern for Trump during his current first world tour was to secure lucrative business deals that would serve his “America First” agenda and create jobs back in the United States. As a long-time businessman who prides himself on his ability to make deals, Trump must be aware that extended wars in the region, and threats to expand that war, cannot be the right strategy for securing the lucrative business deals to which he aspires.
As always, first comes first. And the most urgent priority for the Arab peoples of the region is that Trump’s tour will bring an end to the ongoing, tremendous human suffering in Gaza. What is needed is not just a new plan to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza, but a true end to the Israeli genocide and a way to restrain Netanyahu and his government from sinking the region into endless bloodshed.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 15 May, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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