U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller denies claims that American pressure played a decisive role in securing a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas. Miller emphasized that the agreement was not the result of external pressure on Israeli officials but rather stemmed from Hamas’s weakened position in the ongoing conflict.
“It is not because of pressure that we have seen brought to bear by any party on the government of Israel in the last few days that has gotten us to a deal,” Miller said in a press briefing, attributing the breakthrough to Hamas’s need for a respite from fighting.
The statement stands in contrast to reports from senior Arab diplomats and sources familiar with the negotiations, who told The Times of Israel that a critical turning point occurred during a tense meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. The sources described the meeting as pivotal, with Witkoff applying substantial pressure on Netanyahu to make the compromises necessary for an agreement.
According to the Arab diplomats, the level of pressure exerted by Trump’s envoy during this single meeting surpassed that of numerous conversations held by Biden administration officials with Netanyahu throughout the conflict.
Miller acknowledged the Trump team’s involvement in the effort but rejected claims that their pressure was instrumental in achieving the agreement.
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2 Responses
Of-course the state department is going to claim this wasn’t American pressure, because the state department is democRAT and hates President Donald Trump שליט”א who is our unsung hero in all of this.
If you believe that the US State Department pressure didn’t pressure Israel to accept the ceasefire to its , I have a bridge to sell you. They have always been very anti Israel and were generally overridden by the President. They always favored the Arabs.