Will Witkoff Put the Hammer on Bibi to Force Gaza Ceasefire/Hostage Deal?
July 11—A week ago, President Donald Trump was telling people that he had finally ended the bloody rampage of the Butcher of Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, and that a 60-day ceasefire/hostage release deal would be in place in a matter of days. Bibi arrived in Washington for four days of talks and presented the President with a letter he had composed nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize (although since the author is an indicted war criminal with a pending arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, one wonders if the letter likely hurts Trump's chances for the award).
Bibi is now back in Israel, and no deal has been announced. Sources close to the ongoing peace talks in Doha say that while a deal could be reached, Bibi has introduced new problems which complicate matters. What’s worse is that he appears to be serious about his stated intention to restart the war after the 60-day ceasefire—and his people have put out that Trump had told him that would be okay, a story vigorously denied by White House sources.
Plans for Gaza and the Morag Corridor
In addition, Bibi the Butcher is deadly serious about his stated plan to relocate what remains of the Gazan population in a “humanitarian” concentration camp to be built on the ruins of what was once the city of Rafah, which Netanyahu has reduced to a Hiroshima-like rubble heap. The Gazans will then be offered the choice between staying there or taking their “free choice” to leave Gaza for good, for destinations as yet unclear. That is why the Israelis now insist that during the ceasefire, they must control the so-called Morag corridor—which no one had heard about until a month ago. This is the route by which he intends to force Gazans to his “Paradise” City.
The "voluntary" relocation scheme is supported by two lunatic ministers in his fragile coalition—Bezalel Smotrich (Finance) and Itamar Ben-Gvir (National Security)—and Bibi hopes that it will keep them in government even if he is forced to sign a ceasefire/hostage deal which they don't support.
Sources close to the White House report that Trump, in their private meetings, told Bibi that he wanted a deal signed and that he expected Bibi to then negotiate in good faith for a permanent end to war. There would be consequences for him and Israel if his wishes were not obeyed, the sources said. Netanyahu’s response was to nod and say he would restart the war only if negotiations broke down—and then he introduces problems that could lead to a collapse of the talks.
Palestinians in Gaza are dying at rates averaging more than a hundred a day. Add to those totals the deaths of around 600 starving people, murdered by the Israel Defense Forces and guards as they sought food at the distributions run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-American operation, with more than 5,000 Gazans wounded at—or rather, by—the GHF food distribution. “So, the way many of us look at this, a ceasefire and hostage/prisoner release and a stop to the bloody fighting, and the takeover of food and aid distribution by the United Nations and Red Crescent is a good thing,” said a White House source. “And the deal on the table between Israel and Hamas will do this and more.”
Witkoff’s Crucial Role and Doha’s Decisive Talks
This and other sources say that at this point, any deal is far from guaranteed. To push it through will be the hard job of Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who will have to hammer Bibi to make him back down on his Gaza relocation plan. Witkoff believes that Hamas wants a deal, and that once again, it is Bibi who wants the killing to continue. “If Steve is willing to lay the hammer on Bibi, to get a fair deal,” said a source, “then Hamas will accept the assurance from Trump and Witkoff that they will make sure that Bibi and Israel negotiate in good faith beyond the 60-day ceasefire, if necessary to get a deal that permanently constrains Netanyahu and ends the war.”
Witkoff has delayed his trip for a few days to hopefully allow the two sides and the mediators to get close to a deal. Then he will swoop in and finish the job.
“The main issues under discussion in Doha are the lines to which the IDF will withdraw,” wrote Chaim Levinson in Haaretz yesterday. “Netanyahu is demanding that the army remain in Rafah to build the infrastructure for a giant ‘humanitarian city’ for Gazans, with the ultimate goal of pushing them into Egypt. Hamas opposes Israeli control of Rafah, as do the mediators. The matter will only be decided when Witkoff arrives in Qatar and begins knocking heads. The fact that Witkoff is delaying his return to Doha is worrisome, but those who are currently there insist that the talks have been serious and productive.
“Unless Trump finds the determination to force Netanyahu’s hand on these two crucial issues—the question of renewing the war, and the control over Morag—a deal won’t be reached next week, just like it wasn’t signed this week. There will be more dramatic visits and historic meetings, more negotiations in Qatar and proximity talks in Cairo; but there won’t be an agreement and a release of hostages. From Netanyahu’s perspective, that’s the best possible scenario. Now we wait to see what Trump wants.”