Trump gets credit for what looks like Joe Biden's ceasefire proposal in Gaza

Amid the relief at the prospect of hostages returning home and an end to the slaughter and destruction in Gaza, there are also plenty of questions about why the potential ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — being brokered with the help of Qatar — couldn't have been signed eight months ago.    

For some observers, a key difference is an incoming U.S. president who Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found it hard to say no to.

Donald Trump is putting "heavy pressure… not only on Hamas and the Qataris, but also on us to reach a deal," Israeli Channel 14 political commentator Tamir Morag told his audience Tuesday, referencing his conversations with officials inside Netanyahu's government.

Over at Channel 12,  its political correspondent Yaron Avarham was sounding a similar tone.

Trump "pressed hard, and he clearly told the prime minister that he wants to see a deal before his inauguration," on Jan. 20, Avarham said, adding that the draft proposal is "the same deal" that was tabled on May 27 by the Biden administration. 

That proposal called for a permanent ceasefire, beginning with an exchange of hostages and Palestinian detainees along with an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas of Gaza. It also included a surge of humanitarian support followed by a long-term plan to rebuild the devastated enclave.

A draft of the current agreement under consideration provided to news agencies such as Reuters by Israeli and Palestinian officials contains all, or nearly all, of the same provisions. 

It's unclear precisely what, if any, leverage Trump has been applying to Israel but in December he vowed that "all hell will break loose" if there isn't agreement.

While that was widely interpreted as a threat against Hamas, there may also have been repercussions for Israel.

Some Israeli observers believe that Netanyahu and the war in Gaza had simply become a distraction Trump didn't want to deal with — and that the prospects of being a historic deal-maker were significantly more attractive. 

"I think that Trump has other issues on his agenda," said Yossi Beilin, a former Labour cabinet minister in Israel's government and a key figure who helped initiate the peace talks leading to the 1995 Oslo Accords.

Trump and Netanyahu have a "very, very fragile friendship," he told CBC News, suggesting that while the two leaders may share authoritarian tendencies, they are not natural allies. 

More than 46,000 people have been killed in Gaza over the last 15 months — and the pace of Israeli bombing has continued unrelentingly even as negotiators pushed for a final deal, with 27 more dead just in the last day.

On the Israeli side, more than 1,200 were killed during Hamas's rampage through Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, most of them civilians, with a further 403 soldiers losing their lives fighting in Gaza.