Who is Steve Witkoff, Trump’s man at the Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks? | Donald Trump News

As both US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump try to take credit for Israel and Hamas agreeing to a cease-fire deal in Gaza, a relatively unknown political newcomer to Trump’s incoming team has emerged as a key figure in sealing the deal .

Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate developer and investor, was reportedly instrumental in delivering the message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Trump would have the deal in place when he takes office next week.

Witkoff has been a friend of Trump for four decades. The two men play golf together, and Witkoff was with the president-elect during an assassination attempt on his golf course in Florida last September. Now he is Trump’s envoy to the Middle East.

In addition to his business style and personal interests in the Middle East, Witcoff reportedly shares Trump’s brash personality.

Last Saturday, as negotiators neared a deal, Witkoff reached out to Netanyahu’s office to finalize the deal, but was told by aides that the Israeli leader could not be disturbed during the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported. Witkoff, himself Jewish, responded “in salty English” and said he didn’t care what day it was. Netanyahu obliged.

“I think they heard him loud and clear: better get it done for the inauguration,” Witkoff later told reporters of the deal, praising Trump for delegating “better” than anyone else.

“He gives us a lot of authority,” Witkoff added.

Trump announced Witkoff as his incoming Middle East envoy shortly after winning the November presidential election, and while his administration doesn’t take over until Monday, Witkoff quickly became involved, traveling to Doha to take part in months-long ceasefire talks.

Although he has no foreign policy experience or training, his appointment is in line with Trump’s preference for unconventional picks with little expertise. “We have people who know everything about the Middle East, but they can’t speak properly … he’s a great negotiator,” the president-elect said of his friend.

After the deal was announced, Trump said Witkoff would continue “to work closely with Israel and our allies to ensure that Gaza NEVER again becomes a safe haven for terrorists”.

Witkoff attended Netanyahu’s 2024 address to the US Congress and praised the Israeli prime minister’s speech to US lawmakers as “powerful”. “It was epic to be in that room,” he said. When Biden temporarily suspended military aid to Israel last year, Witkoff seized the break to raise money for the Trump campaign.

Trump and Witkoff share a close and enduring relationship, having known each other since the 1980s.

“That history and the longevity of the relationship indicate deep trust and loyalty, which will give Witcoff a longer leash to maneuver on the Middle East peace dossier,” Zaha Hassan, a political analyst and fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Al Jazeera.

Hassan also noted that while others whom Trump has nominated for key roles in his administration have tended to have strong pro-Israel views, “Witcoff’s leanings are not yet clear,” she said. “What we know now is that he successfully helped negotiate a ceasefire, something the Biden administration was unable to do for 15 months.”

Hassan also pointed to Witcoff’s business dealings with the Gulf states as a background that could potentially make him “a good broker for regional peace”.

“Given Trump’s desire to realize a Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement and the Saudi demand that such an agreement include a Palestinian state or an irreversible path to one, there is hope that Trump, unlike Biden , will use the leverage of the presidency in service of a true ‘deal of the century,’” she said.

Political timing

During the final days of the negotiations, Witkoff worked closely with Biden’s team, including White House Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk. Speaking to reporters this week, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Trump’s team “has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line.”

The Biden administration has tried to portray the negotiations as a bipartisan effort. “For the last few days, we’ve been talking as one team,” the president said with a nod to Witkoff. But Trump’s team has pushed back, suggesting the administration couldn’t get the deal done before Witkoff intervened.

Biden administration officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity suggested the administration wanted Witkoff involved in the negotiations so the resulting deal would see continued U.S. support after Biden leaves office next week.

One official described McGurk and Witkoff’s coordination as a “fruitful partnership,” with the two closely coordinating while pushing the parties to come to terms. At a critical juncture last week, for example, Witkoff left negotiations in Doha for Israel to meet Netanyahu, while McGurk remained in Doha and continued to work with Qatari negotiators who were chief negotiators with Hamas.

But while Trump’s team has tried to portray their involvement, through Witkoff, as significant, some analysts cautioned against that narrative.

“I’m actually quite skeptical of the idea that Trump is putting special pressure on Netanyahu, although I think that’s a narrative that some people want to believe, and maybe Trump wants people to believe,” says Yousef Munayyer, a political director. analyst and senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC, told Al Jazeera.

“I think the reality is that this was a deal that everyone knew was going to happen, and the only thing that the Israelis could really control was the timing of when this deal could happen, and they maneuvered in such a way around the timelines of American politics to deliver a political victory for Trump — first in the election by keeping the war going and then on his inauguration day.”

What remains to be seen, Munayyer added, is what the Trump administration had promised Israel in return.

“The question that remains is what kind of reward Trump will give to the Israelis, and Netanyahu in particular, when they come to cash in.”