Walking the tightrope: Netanyahu's goals in Washington DC

On Monday in Washington, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, a meeting that was described as starting negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal. The negotiations are set for around the midpoint of the current first phase of the deal, during which 33 hostages will be released.

Contrary to the descriptor of the meeting, one of the main options on the table right now is an extension of phase one – meaning, the continuation of the release of three to four Israeli hostages every week, while Israel releases Palestinian security prisoners, some with blood on their hands, and holds up the ceasefire.

These talks and meetings come just as changes are being made to the mediation’s mechanism. An Israeli official noted, “The hostage deal talks will be conducted in a completely different way than what we have seen until now. We are returning to shuttle diplomacy, where Witkoff will be the main mediator. He will talk with the Israelis, Qataris, and Egyptians.”

But it is not just the mechanism that is changing; it is also the personnel in the Israeli team who will lead the negotiations that is changing.

Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security services, Mossad chief David Barnea at the annual IDF Armored Corps memorial ceremony, marking the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, in Yad La-Shiryon, on September 27, 2023. (credit: Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)

The negotiations until now

Until now, the delegation was headed by Mossad head David Barnea, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar, and IDF Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Nitzan Alon. Going forward, the two figures that will take charge of the negotiations are Netanyahu himself and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who has close ties to the Trump administration.

The way the Prime Minister’s Office explained the change is that since the phase two talks will be more diplomatic in nature – relating to the continuation or conclusion of the war in Gaza, as well as the day after in the enclave, all of which could influence a potential normalization deal with Saudi Arabia – these particular talks will need to be handled by the diplomatic echelon, rather than the defensive one.

Critics note that Netanyahu’s decision to seize control of the negotiations could actually endanger phase two, and may even affect the current phase one, with the decisions made being “[necessarily] political.”

Trump said on Monday, “I have no guarantees that the Gaza ceasefire will hold,” just ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu, which is set to take place tonight. These are exactly the sentiments the prime minister would like to hear in the meeting itself, for the simple fact that a Trump announcement stating that the war will not resume will make it harder for far-right elements inside Netanyahu’s coalition who have declared that not resuming the fighting is their redline.

Netanyahu knows this meeting is crucial; Israeli officials would like to reach a consensus with Trump on the talks and the question of the resumption of fighting. A diplomatic source said, “Trump doesn’t like complicated ideas or ways to achieve goals. Israel will need to convince the president that there is a way to release more hostages without ending the war… that’s the main goal of [Netanyahu] – to [lay out] a path that is fast and simple to achieve this goal.”