Steve Witkoff is playing a key role in today’s negotiations, bearing pressure from Donald Trump, Israeli suppliers say.
Steve Witkoff, a candidate for the post of special representative for the Middle East in the future administration of the White House, came to Israel to reach an agreement on the release of hostages and a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Axios reported this in connection with Israeli officials on Saturday, January 11.
Witkoff is understood to have arrived in Israel from Qatar as part of US President-elect Donald Trump’s latest effort to force all parties involved in the negotiations to reach an agreement ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
The publication recalls that Trump threatened that there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if Hamas did not release the Israeli hostages before his inauguration.
An Israeli official said Witkoff conveyed a message to Qatar’s prime minister during their meeting in Doha on Friday that Trump wanted to see an agreement within days.
And now Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and mentioned Trump’s goal of reaching a deal by January 20.
Netanyahu’s office said that during the meeting, members of the Israeli negotiating team and President Biden’s Doha-based Middle East adviser Brett McGurk joined a conference call to discuss the status of negotiations.
At the end of the meeting, Netanyahu ordered several security officials to immediately travel to Doha to promote a deal on the release of the hostages and a ceasefire.
Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, are still ongoing in Doha. US officials said Biden adviser McGurk and Trump spokesman Witkoff were coordinating their efforts.
“Witkoff is playing a critical role in today’s negotiations, putting pressure on Trump,” the Israeli official said.
Meanwhile, the candidate for the post of American Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, postponed his trip to Kyiv, which was previously planned.
The previous day, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry explained that this happened for legal reasons, and that Kellogg’s trip would take place after Trump’s inauguration.
Source: korrespondent
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