The United States President-elect, Donald Trump has claimed he’s responsible for the ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.
According to him, pressure from his incoming administration led to the agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The agreement, which would exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, awaits approval by Israel’s security cabinet before taking effect, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be negotiated.
Speaking on the Dan Bongino Show on Thursday, Trump said negotiations would have never been finalised without pressure from his team, including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Trump said: “If we weren’t involved in this deal, the deal would’ve never happened. We changed the course of it, and we changed it fast, and frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office.”
Trump also blasted outgoing President Joe Biden for taking credit for the ceasefire agreement.
He called Biden “ungracious,” saying: “He didn’t do anything. If I didn’t do this, if we didn’t get involved, the hostages would never be out.”
Biden had proposed a ceasefire agreement last May with terms that mirrored the deal reached this week.
The ceasefire agreement under discussion proposes an initial 42-day ceasefire that would see the release of 33 hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza’s population centres.
The second phase of the agreement could bring a “permanent end to the war,” Biden said.
