It should be a momentous occasion: late on Thursday evening, President Donald Trump announced a landmark deal, in which Hamas would agree to completely disarm – alongside “all other armed groups in Gaza” – in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Trump himself, on Truth Social, was very much keen to present it as such, calling it a “historic breakthrough” and an “AMAZING DEVELOPMENT, THAT EVERYBODY SAID COULD NEVER BE ACHIEVED!”
The reality is that a deal in which Hamas agreed to actually and verifiably disarm would be a significant achievement for any US president, and a potentially great development for the prospect of peace in the Middle East. But the muted initial response to the announcement is understandable, too, given Trump’s habit of announcing peace deals before all the details are hammered out.
For a deal of this supposed magnitude, traditionally all of the parties would be present for negotiations to make sure everyone’s understanding of exactly who would do what when, and in what order, was absolutely agreed. Statements from all the involved parties would be agreed and approved in advance. Everything would be done to make sure the scope for misunderstanding was as close to zero as possible.
