Sunday, January 19, 2025

Trump likely to bring geopolitical shifts across Middle East - opinion

US President-elect Donald Trump’s imminent re-entry into the White House marks a new era for the Middle East, fundamentally different from the one of the Biden administration.


This week advanced negotiations were underway in Doha for a hostage deal with Hamas, mediated by Qatar. Reports suggest progress stems from a message sent by Trump’s envoy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, conveying Trump’s desire for a deal before his upcoming inauguration on Monday.

Vice President-elect JD Vance stated in a Fox News interview this week that Trump intends to allow Israel to act against Hamas in Gaza and impose sanctions on terrorist organizations if Hamas does not reach an agreement with Israel before he takes office.Vance explained Trump’s stance, warning there would be “hell in the Middle East,” and noted that the president plans to “enable Israel to destroy Hamas’s two battalions in central Gaza and its leadership” while imposing “severe sanctions on countries supporting terrorist organizations across the Middle East.”    (Read More)