“Unorthodox, but effective” is how the Wall Street Journal characterizes Donald Trump’s diplomacy in relation to the Gaza ceasefire. According to the publication, Trump’s announcement that he had ended the two-year war in Gaza was based on an unorthodox strategy: first declare victory, then force others to fill in the details to make it reality.
The American president overturned the traditional scenario for resolving international crises, according to which diplomats work behind the scenes to smooth out differences between opposing sides before world leaders intervene and announce an agreement. As the Wall Street Journal article notes, while mediators in Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh were still haggling over maps, prisoner lists, and troop withdrawal lines, he was already declaring from the White House that the war was over, when in reality this wasn’t entirely accurate.
Wall Street Journal: What Trump’s strategy was based on
Trump’s strategy was based on the principle that no one would dare publicly contradict the American president – not Hamas, not Israel, not the Arab mediators. He bet that the inevitable pressure of publicity would force them all to agree, so that no one would appear as the factor continuing the war. This is a tactic the American president often employs. Specifically, since his business deals in New York, he preferred to set terms publicly and force his counterparts to react under pressure. In Gaza’s case, the announcement before the agreement created a fait accompli atmosphere that no side could or dared overturn.
Crucial to this first stage was the personal pressure Trump exerted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who remained hesitant about any ceasefire idea. According to negotiation sources, the American president used “emergency calls and high-intensity meetings,” warning he would not tolerate further military escalation.
Meanwhile, Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey increased their pressure on Hamas. For the first time, both sides found themselves “trapped,” as Israeli negotiator Gershon Baskin characteristically said. Netanyahu by the White House and Hamas by its regional allies.
“If he had waited for all details to be resolved, we would be talking about weeks or even months without results,” notes former Israeli ambassador Daniel Shek. “Instead, he announced the outcome and let others find ways to make it reality.” This method worked, writes the Wall Street Journal, at least in the first phase. The US achieved approval for an initial ceasefire, with hostage exchanges and gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Nevertheless, the more complex issues, such as Hamas disarmament and the introduction of an international peacekeeping force in Gaza, remain open and extremely sensitive, as they concern the post-war trajectory of the Palestinian enclave. There, the “red lines” constitute a real diplomatic challenge for anyone seeking to overcome them, the publication concludes.
