State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Wednesday praised President-elect Donald Trump’s role in the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire agreement, calling his efforts “absolutely important.”
“When it came to the involvement of President-elect Trump’s team, it was critical to getting this deal over the line,” Miller said Wednesday afternoon during one of the State Department’s final regular briefings.
“I don’t know if it’s unprecedented for envoys from the outgoing administration and the incoming administration to sit down at the same table and negotiate a ceasefire agreement of this kind, but it’s certainly unusual,” he continued.
“We, of course, thanked the Trump team for working with us on this ceasefire agreement. I think it’s important that they had a seat at the table, and we took this opportunity to encourage Americans across party lines, as we were willing to do. I think it shows that when there’s a willingness to go above and beyond and work together, because it’s in America’s national interest, we can do a lot.” Miller said.
When a reporter asked President Joe Biden on Wednesday whether Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump would get more credit for the ceasefire, the president paused and asked, “Are you kidding?”
A reporter asked who should take credit for this: “You or Trump?”
President Biden: “Are you kidding?” pic.twitter.com/7u6AMuNhMG
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 15, 2025
However, some Israeli media and Arabs alike have reported that the credit for the deal goes to the incoming president, not the outgoing president.
Stephen Witkoff, President Trump’s next special envoy to the Middle East, push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Israel on Saturday to try to reach a ceasefire and brought back the agreement. (Related: Benjamin Netanyahu, ousted in 2020, secretly working to help Trump win ahead of presidential election)
Witkoff “did more to sway the prime minister in one sit-in than outgoing President Joe Biden did in an entire year,” two Arab officials said. said Times of Israel.
Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East “did more to sway Prime Minister Netanyahu in a single sit-in than outgoing President Joe Biden did all year…” https://t.co/Sbsn45Cw4s pic.twitter.com/GLz667VmG4
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 15, 2025
President Trump praised his efforts to secure a deal in a post on Truth Social Wednesday afternoon.
“This EPIC cease-fire agreement could only have come about as a result of the historic victory in November, because it meant that our administration sought peace and negotiated an agreement that ensures the safety of all Americans and our allies. Because we showed the world that we do,” Trump wrote. .
The interim truce between Israel and Hamas follows Israel’s 15-month military operation in the Hamas-occupied Gaza Strip in response to Hamas’ massacre of Israeli citizens in an October 7 terrorist attack. .
The agreement provides for a six-week ceasefire on both sides. Some of the 100 Israeli hostages are also scheduled to return home. The hostage release was carried out in three stages, with the first stage freeing 33 women and children, elderly people and injured civilians in exchange for several hundred Palestinian women and children. According to To the Associated Press.
Neither Israel nor Hamas have confirmed the agreement, and it has not yet been ratified.
According to the Associated Press, Prime Minister Netanyahu said late Wednesday afternoon that officials were still finalizing details.
