The continuity of President-elect Trump's diplomatic team's involvement in the ceasefire negotiations, not Trump's personal relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was the most important factor in having the incoming administration's support in the late stage of the hostage talks, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.
Miller called the involvement of President-elect Trump's team "absolutely critical" in getting this deal over the line because the Biden administration is only in office for five more days.
According to Miller, the Biden administration long said the US, Egypt, and Qatar are the guarantors of this deal, with Egypt and Qatar pushing Hamas to stay at the bargaining table and to get from stage one to stage two and the US pushing Israel to stay at the bargaining table.
"So obviously, those are promises we cannot make on behalf of the United States for any longer than the next five days," Miller said. "And so it's critical that all of the parties to the agreement and the other mediators see that when the United States is in the room making commitments, those are lasting commitments that extend beyond this administration into the next one."
While Miller wouldn't say it's unprecedented to have envoys from an outgoing and an incoming administration sitting at the same table, negotiating a ceasefire, he said it's "certainly unusual."
He then thanked the Trump team for working with the Biden team on the agreement.
"I think it's important that they were at the table. I think it shows that when Americans are willing to work together across partisan lines, as we were willing to do on this occasion because it's in the national interest of the United States, there's a lot that we can get done," Miller said.
Thanking Trump
While thanking the Trump team, Miller reiterated that the deal was conceived of by the Biden administration and the Biden administration traveled the world to garner support.
After Biden laid out this proposal publicly at the end of May, Miller said Secretary Blinken and other members of the United States government went around the world generating support for this proposal and won the endorsement of not just countries in Europe, but countries across the Middle East, Arab and Muslim countries across the Middle East, leaving Hamas isolated and alone.
Miller said it's "very much in the interest" of the Trump administration to push to turn this agreement from phase one into an end to the war, which happens in phase two and phase three.
There are hostages that will continue to be held after the expiration of phase one, Miller continued, saying it's in the interest of everyone to "see that those hostages return home" and that the war that will stop upon the completion of the ceasefire agreement does not resume at the end of six weeks or subsequent to that if negotiations have had extended beyond.