The lesson of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest diplomatic gambit is that in Middle East deal-making, “the devil is in the details, but the most important thing is political willpower,” said Anshel Pfeffer, The Economist’s Israel correspondent and former Haaretz columnist, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. 

Trump, he noted, “has supplied that political willpower in bucket loads.” 

Hours after Israel and Hamas agreed on a deal to end the war in Gaza and release the hostages, Pfeffer spoke with host Allison Kaplan Sommer about the long road to the deal, the obstacles that lie ahead and the joyful yet nervous mood among Israelis as they anticipate the long-awaited return of all the hostages. 

Pfeffer, a biographer of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also discussed how he expects Israel’s leader to shape the narrative of the cease-fire to serve his political goals ahead of next year’s general election.

“We know how hard Donald Trump had to press him to accept this plan, but he is a very pragmatic person," Pfeffer said. "The moment something is forced upon him, he immediately makes it look as if it was his idea all along.”

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