Before United States President Joe Biden had even announced the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, his bid to claim a major foreign policy win in the dying days of his administration was overshadowed by his political nemesis, Donald Trump.
Trump, who will be inaugurated as the 47th US president next week, revealed that a deal had been reached on his Truth Social platform hours before Biden confirmed the agreement in a statement from the White House on Wednesday evening.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump wrote, not hesitating to claim credit for the breakthrough after 15 months of devastating war.
Speaking at the White House later, Biden said his diplomatic efforts had “never ceased”, but he acknowledged that his administration had worked with Trump’s team to ensure the US was “speaking with one voice”.
Biden, who has been heavily criticised by the progressive flank of the Democratic Party over his unceasing support of Israel, said the deal was “developed and negotiated by my team” and he seemed perplexed that there could be any confusion over who was responsible for the breakthrough.