U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting where Trump announced nuclear talks with Iran, Washington, April.Credit: Kevin Mohatt / REUTERS
Liza Rosovsky
Trump’s administration has communicated to Jerusalem that if Israel does not move forward together with the United States toward an agreement with Hamas, it will be left on its own, according to a source
The Trump administration is heavily pressuring Israel to reach a deal with Hamas ahead of the president’s upcoming visit to the region, a source familiar with the details told Haaretz on Friday.
According to the source, the administration views this as a matter of great importance and is communicating to Jerusalem that if Israel does not move forward together with the United States toward an agreement, it will be left on its own. The office of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer declined to officially comment on the matter.
Trump is set to begin his regional visit on May 13, during which he is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Haaretz has also learned that Steve Witkoff is the senior American official who met earlier this week with families of the hostages and told them that military pressure endangers the captives.
Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Thursday that Witkoff told the families: “If until now the hostages have paid the price for the war not ending, today the price will be much heavier for Israel, and not just for the hostages. President Trump is determined to move forward toward a significant deal with Saudi Arabia, even without Israeli involvement.”
<img class=”aligncenter” title=”A hostage deal protest featuring Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and activist, on Saturday., Credit: Tomer Appelbaum” src=”https://d6a0i017wb5pjv.archive.vn/l8roS/4cd0959133e20a74624a97b8a03b8e5be10586a4.webp” alt=”A hostage deal protest featuring Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and activist, on Saturday.” /
A hostage deal protest featuring Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan and activist, on Saturday.Credit: Tomer Appelbaum
The source told Haaretz that Witkoff’s criticism of the Israeli government was leaked at his request. Witkoff’s office denied that the administration is pressuring Israel to reach a deal.
According to the report on Channel 12, Witkoff also told the families of the hostages that “the cease-fire agreement with the Houthis is just a prelude, and if Israel does not come to its senses, then even the ‘Deal of the Millennium’ [a deal with Saudi Arabia] will be made without it. We hope that Israel will seize the historic train that has already left the station, but the U.S. will not wait at the platform.
A senior Israeli security official said this week that the expansion of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, as approved by the cabinet, will not begin before U.S. President Donald Trump completes his visit to the Middle East, and that it will only be launched if no deal for the release of the hostages is reached by then.
According to the official, if by the end of Trump’s visit the negotiations for a hostage deal have not made progress, the Israeli operation will “begin with great force and will not stop until all its objectives are achieved.”
Reuters reported on Thursday that the United States will not require Saudi Arabia to sign a normalization agreement with Israel as a condition for negotiations on the kingdom’s civilian nuclear program, citing two sources familiar with the matter. In response, the Regional Security Coalition, which brings together more than 100 senior Israeli officials, said the report was “an urgent wake-up call for the government.”
Earlier this week, Trump announced that the U.S. would halt strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. “The Houthis have announced … that they don’t want to fight anymore,” the president said.
“They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that. And we will we will stop the bombings. And they have capitulated,” he added. “They’ve said, ‘Please don’t bomb us anymore. We’re not going to attack your ships.'”
Israel’s defense establishment was surprised by Trump’s statement, and when Haaretz asked whether the Houthis’ commitment to cease attacks also includes missile launches at Israel, the White House replied that they had nothing to add at this time. Senior Houthi officials, following Trump’s statement, declared that they would continue aggression against Israel.</
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