An adviser to the US president said there were no guarantees.
An agreement on a cease-fire and the release of hostages between Israel and the Palestinian militant movement Hamas could be concluded as early as this week. Jake Sullivan, US President’s national security adviser, told Bloomberg on Monday. But he added that there are no guarantees that a deal will actually happen. TASR took the information from the Reuters agency.
The Biden administration is in contact with the Trump team
In an interview with Bloomberg, Sullivan said that the administration of outgoing President Joe Biden is in contact with Donald Trump’s team and is trying to find a unified approach on the issue. “The pressure that built up here toward the end of President Biden’s term was significant,” Sullivan said. “It’s about to collapse,” he declared. Biden’s term ends on January 20, when Trump is inaugurated.
Reuters reminds that Trump’s future envoy for the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, also participated in the negotiations between Hamas and Israel during the past weekend. “The question is: Can we all seize this moment together and get this done?” asked Sullivan, who revealed that President Biden has appointed him to work closely with Trump’s team on the matter.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been trying to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas for several months. However, they have so far failed to stop the devastating conflict in the Gaza Strip, which began in October 2023 after Palestinian militants attacked Israel.
A significant shift in negotiations occurred in the last weeks of President Biden’s mandate. According to Reuters sources, it happened mainly on Monday night after talks between the heads of the Israeli secret services, Witkoff and the Qatari prime minister. At the same time, Qatar handed over the “final” version of the ceasefire agreement to Hamas in the morning.
