Why does Hamas have so much confidence in Trump?

Why does Hamas have so much confidence in Trump?

Hamas once called US President Donald Trump a “racist” and “anarchist.” The Palestinian independence movement also called him an “irrationalist” in his approach to Gaza. But after an unprecedented phone call last month, Hamas believed that Trump might be able to force Israel to sign a peace deal if they released all the hostages. The Israeli hostages have been Hamas’s main tool in the Gaza war, two Palestinian officials said. The call was widely publicized at the time. After a meeting at the White House in September, Trump handed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a phone and asked him to apologize to the Qatari prime minister.

Earlier last month, Israel carried out a deadly airstrike on the Qatari capital, Doha. The attack was aimed at killing top Hamas negotiators in Doha, including Khalil al-Haya, who were trying to end the war in Gaza. But Israel failed to achieve its goal. The attack on Qatar forced Netanyahu to apologize to the country's prime minister in a phone call. The two Palestinian officials said that Trump's handling of the Qatar issue had strengthened Hamas leaders' belief that he was serious about ending the war and that he was the one who could confront Netanyahu. And Hamas's trust in him has grown even more after Trump brokered a ceasefire last Wednesday. Yet this is Trump, who this year proposed ousting the Palestinians from Gaza and turning it into a US-controlled "resort".

And Hamas’s faith in Trump has grown even more after the ceasefire agreement was reached last Wednesday. Yet this is Trump, who proposed to oust the Palestinians from Gaza this year and turn it into a US-controlled “resort.” The Gaza ceasefire agreement went into effect last Friday. Hamas agreed to release all Israeli hostages without any guarantee of a full withdrawal of troops from Gaza. As promised, 20 surviving hostages were released on Monday. Two other Palestinian Hamas officials admitted that Hamas had taken a risky gamble by agreeing to the deal. The whole thing hinges on the idea that Donald Trump has worked so hard for this deal that he will not let it fall apart. A Palestinian official said that Hamas leaders are well aware that this gamble could backfire. They fear that once the prisoners are released, Israel could resume military operations. That is exactly what happened after the temporary ceasefire last January. The Trump administration was closely involved in that ceasefire. The Gaza peace conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in which Trump's close advisers and world leaders attended indirect talks with Israel, provided Hamas with considerable reassurance, although many of its fundamental demands, including steps toward Palestinian statehood, remain unresolved.

The first phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan could pave the way for an end to the 

war, but the second phase of the plan is still uncertain. But the way Trump has handled the Qatar attack and ended the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June has given Hamas negotiators confidence that the US president will not allow Israel to start a new war after the hostages are released, two Palestinian officials and another source told Reuters. A source in Washington said Trump was furious with Netanyahu over the Qatar attack, and his aides were using his anger to pressure Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire plan. The first phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan could pave the way for an end to the war, but the second phase of the plan is still uncertain. A senior White House official said Trump has built relationships with Gulf states that are crucial to his broader diplomatic and economic policies. He considers the emir of Qatar a friend. He did not take Israel’s attack on Qatar well. The White House official considered the attack on Qatar a turning point that strengthened unity among Arab countries. Trump publicly declared that Israel would never carry out such an attack on Qatar again. The declaration increased Trump’s credibility in the eyes of Hamas and other regional groups. “He (Trump) gave Qatar security guarantees that Israel would not attack again. This gave Hamas confidence that the ceasefire would hold.” A Palestinian official in Gaza said that Trump had publicly ordered an end to the Iran-Israel conflict. This also helped strengthen the confidence of Hamas leaders.