Staff Reports
In the sun-soaked luxury of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s diplomacy season is in full swing, and today’s main act is a face-to-face with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The stage is set for discussions on peace, but calling this occasion merely a “talk” about peace would be like saying a desert is a little dry. On the agenda is the complex second phase of the Gaza cease-fire deal and those pesky tensions with Iran that refuse to fade away.
The initial phase of the deal has managed to hold on, but just barely. It’s akin to balancing on eggshells while juggling—aid is trickling into Gaza, hostages have been returned, alive and tragically, some in coffins, and combat has been restrained. Hamas, in a crafty game of hide-and-seek, has yet to release the body of a deceased hostage. Israeli officials are sure Hamas knows exactly where the body is, yet they are pretending to rummage through the cushions. Could this be a stalling tactic? You bet. As Hamas fishes for time to rearm and recruit, one can almost hear the sighs of frustration from Tel Aviv to Washington.
Netanyahu finds himself in a tough position. Today’s chat with Trump will likely be a mix of persuasion and ultimatums. The message appears to be: if peace talks dissolve into mere diplomatic tea parties, Israel wants the go-ahead to handle Hamas with less conversation and more forthright action. This is especially relevant when it comes to Hezbollah, the neighbor who borrowed your lawnmower and hasn’t given it back yet. They’ve been the subject of over a hundred Israeli attacks since last fall due to their pesky habit of moving military hardware around like they’re playing chess, not checkers.
Meanwhile, Iran remains the looming specter in this Middle Eastern melodrama. Despite whispers about rebuilding their ballistic missile program, which alarmingly buttered the wrong side of Israel’s bread, their nuclear endeavors are allegedly lurking on the horizon. The task at hand requires the leaders to remain vigilant, with the backing of the United States, to ensure this brewing pot does not boil over.
Amid these tense geopolitical exchanges, just a day prior, Trump had a chinwag with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It seems peace is the flavor of the month, and Zelenskyy and Trump were ironing out those tricky wrinkles in the fabric of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Russia’s desire for land concessions from Ukraine illustrates Putin’s ongoing quest for territory, painting him as the neighbor who doesn’t just want your lawnmower but also your shed. The negotiations are ongoing, painstaking, and fraught with potential pitfalls. From where most stand, striking peace in this region would require the finesse of a tightrope walker and the patience of a saint.
In the coming days, the world will be watching closely. Will peace agreements become more than ink on a page, or will they unravel like a badly knit scarf at the first tug? If history has taught anyone anything, it’s that betting against Middle Eastern peace is a fair wager. Whether Trump’s diplomatic poker hand will hold remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain: he’s in for a long game.
