Biden spokesperson claims no pressure was needed on Israel to secure today’s deal

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller denies that pressure needed to be placed on Israel to secure a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

The stance contradicts what senior Arab diplomats and two other sources familiar with the negotiations told The Times of Israel yesterday, revealing that a “tense” meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff led to a breakthrough in the talks after the latter leaned on the premier to make the compromises necessary for an agreement.

The two senior Arab diplomats said that the level of pressure exerted on Netanyahu by Trump’s envoy in that one meeting had been absent in the countless conversations that Biden officials held with the prime minister throughout the war.

Asked about such reporting during a press briefing, Miller insists, “It is not because of pressure that we have seen brought to bear by any party on the government of Israel the last few days that has gotten us to a deal.”

Miller says the breakthrough was because of Hamas’s weakened and isolated position and that its fighters “needed a break” from the fighting.

He acknowledges that the Trump team has been helpful in the effort but denies that pressure from the president-elect and his team played a role in securing the agreement.