Eurocrats have welcomed the introduction of a ceasefire in Gaza while ignoring incoming US President Donald Trump’s influence on getting the deal.
Numerous reports indicate that Trump and his team played a key role in landing the deal, which had remained out of reach for legacy party politicians on both sides of the Atlantic for nearly a year and a half.
The Times of Israel reported anonymous Arab officials as saying that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had managed to sway Netanyahu more in one meeting than Joe Biden had all last year.
Writing on social media, Ursula von der Leyen’s X account said that the commission president welcomed the deal, which would see the release of Israeli hostages from the hands of Gaza-based Islamist militants.
I warmly welcome the ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza.
Hostages will be reunited with their loved ones and humanitarian aid can reach civilians in Gaza.
This brings hope to an entire region, where people have endured immense suffering for far too long.
Both…
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 15, 2025
“Hostages will be reunited with their loved ones and humanitarian aid can reach civilians in Gaza,” the account wrote on January 15.
“This brings hope to an entire region, where people have endured immense suffering for far too long.
“Both parties must fully implement this agreement, as a stepping stone toward lasting stability in the region and a diplomatic resolution of the conflict,” it added.
Von der Leyen has been sick with “severe pneumonia” since late December. It is unclear whether she penned the post herself.
Council President António Costa also celebrated the deal, describing it as bringing the “suffering of civilians to an end”.
“It should allow for immediate access to much-needed humanitarian relief and create the conditions for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction,” he wrote on X.
“The EU remains committed to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the Two-State solution.”
Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, said that the deal was ” the breakthrough the world has waited and that so many have needed”.
“It is critical that it is upheld. This can be a turning point for a sustainable peace, a surge of aid, and a catalyst that changes despair to hope,” she said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has reportedly proposed that the bloc suspend a political dialogue with Israel, citing possible human rights violations in the war in Gaza. https://t.co/QsWBGuzzlT
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) November 15, 2024
According to US and Israeli news agencies, Donald Trump’s influence was key in landing the new deal, with multiple outlets describing it as similar to the ones Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already rejected.
Trump was the first person to confirm the deal, writing on his own social media platform, Truth Social, on January 15 that the Israeli hostages would be released “shortly”.
He later vowed that he would make sure Gaza “NEVER (sic) again becomes a terrorist safe haven”.
“We will continue promoting PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH throughout the region, as we build upon the momentum of this ceasefire to further expand the Historic Abraham Accords,” he said.
“This is only the beginning of great things to come for America, and indeed, the World!”
Biden has attempted to claim full credit for the ceasefire, saying in a statement that the deal was “developed and negotiated” by his team.
Such a claim has been challenged by Biden’s own administration, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller praising the influence of Trump on the process.
“When it comes to the involvement of President-elect Trump’s team, it has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line,” he told journalists.
Donald Trump had previously vowed that if a ceasefire deal had not been agreed by the time he returned to the White House, there would be “hell to pay”.
Two schools in Anderlecht decided not to participate in a Holocaust commemoration over worries connecting the issue to the war in Gaza, only to later change their minds. https://t.co/fLPDGGrH8K
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 13, 2025
