The High Price of the Hostage Deal

How did we get here? Why was Israel forced to hand over the keys to Gaza’s administration to the U.S. government — and more precisely, to Donald Trump? Since Israel’s 2005 disengagement from Gaza, a consensus took hold: Israel would not return to rule Gaza under any circumstances. Until October 7, Hamas filled that vacuum. Israel paid a devastating price for that consensus — a horrific massacre and a trauma that will haunt Israeli society for years.

There is no dispute that Netanyahu bears direct responsibility for the failure, but his policy of bolstering Hamas was backed by the entire security establishment. Even now, the IDF refuses to govern Gaza, and most parties in the Knesset oppose doing so as well. Aside from the extreme messianic fringe, no Israeli political force is calling on the government to occupy Gaza, establish an alternative civil administration, and find an alternative entity to take control from the army. Into this political and administrative vacuum stepped Donald Trump and his close associates — Kushner, Witkoff, and Boehler.

From the outset, it was clear that Trump and his allies — all Jewish businessmen accustomed to the dirtiest corners of the commercial world — would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Trump openly admires strongmen and bullies. He began his first term by groveling before Putin, then embraced Erdoğan; he praises Xi, and lauds Mohammed bin Salman and the Qatari emir. It was only natural that he would seek a “responsible adult” in Gaza with whom he could do business. That task fell to Adam Boehler, who opened a secret channel with Hamas.

The mass protests in Hostage Square in Tel Aviv left little doubt: Israel would pay any price to free the hostages . “All for all” became the rallying cry — a slogan that implicitly guaranteed Hamas’s continued rule. The problem was that this slogan contradicted the war’s primary objective: dismantling Hamas as Gaza’s governing power. Trump immediately understood that the contradiction was unsolvable — and therefore, direct talks with Hamas were inevitable. Boehler met Khalil al‑Hayya in March 2025 and secured the release of Idan Alexander. The meeting and the legitimacy it conferred on Hamas shocked Israel, and Boehler was briefly sidelined. But Trump and his circle were not deterred — they doubled down.

Although Europe refuses to crown Donald Trump as the world’s monarch, Netanyahu has no choice — he has fallen into the jaws of the bully. The prime minister who launched a war in the name of Western values and civilization against barbarism now finds himself aligned with the very barbarians, autocrats, and contemptuous enemies of the West.

Days before the Gaza ceasefire took effect, Witkoff and Kushner met al‑Hayya in Sharm el‑Sheikh and finalized the implementation of Trump’s 20‑point plan. By then, no one in Israel protested; direct engagement between the Trump administration and Hamas had become normalized. Hamas was now a recognized address, and the goal of eliminating it faded — even as the White House insisted that “Hamas will be disarmed.” Ironically, the Sharm el – Sheikh meeting occurred shortly after Israel’s failed attempt to assassinate al‑Hayya in Doha. In a “60 Minutes” interview, Witkoff recounted consoling al‑Hayya over his son’s death in the Israeli strike of Hamas headquarters in Doha and expressing empathy as a father who lost his own son to an opioid overdose. According to Witkoff, this heartfelt exchange paved the way for the breakthrough.

But the breakthrough that led to the hostage release did not stem from warm relations between two savvy dealmakers — it emerged from shared interests. Witkoff has no love for Hamas, but he is deeply invested in his business ties with the Qatari emir. Qatar and Turkey are Hamas’s patrons; yet Trump has never hidden his fondness for both. Netanyahu knew from the outset that once he surrendered himself to Trump, he would have to swallow every toad that came with this “beautiful friendship.”

The fantastical hostage deal — in which all living and dead hostages (except one) were returned to Israel — was part of a broader process that handed the U.S. administration full control over Gaza’s future. From that moment, Washington ran the show according to its own interests. With the ceasefire announcement, a U.S.-led civil‑military coordination center was established in the southern small city of Kiryat Gat. Trump declared the creation of a “Peace Council,” which he envisions as a replacement for the hostile UN, and appointed it to oversee Gaza’s administration — with Qatar and Turkey as members — under whose supervision a Palestinian technocratic government is meant to be formed.

Thus, the hostage deal transformed Hamas into a legitimate partner in determining Gaza’s fate. The presence of Turkey and Qatar on the governing council is designed to cement a new reality: Hamas will be part of any future solution. Hamas may eventually be forced to relinquish its weapons, but its political presence is guaranteed — by Washington and by its Turkish and Qatari patrons. The technocratic government is no deus ex machina; its members are all tied in one way or another to the Palestinian Authority, effectively serving as its civilian arm, even if funding is expected to come from donor states and international bodies.

Netanyahu promised that Turkey and Qatar — Hamas’s midwives, financiers, and global peddlers of antisemitic propaganda — would not participate in Gaza’s administration. Trump remains unimpressed. Netanyahu owes Trump for every favor: promoting him as Trump’s preferred candidate for Israel’s premiership, hailing him as the hero who saved Israel from annihilation, and working tirelessly to secure him a presidential pardon from Herzog. Netanyahu cannot say no. Unlike Biden, whom Netanyahu could publicly berate, Trump is a bully best avoided.

Yesterday, Netanyahu agreed to join Trump’s Peace Council. Europe refuses to crown Trump as global sovereign, but Netanyahu has no choice — he is trapped in the bully’s grip. The man who claimed to defend Western civilization now stands shoulder‑to‑shoulder with its enemies: from Trump to Putin, through Mohammed bin Salman and Erdoğan. As an indicted felon who will do anything to evade justice while dismantling democracy, Netanyahu fits naturally into this dubious club — and therefore must accept Washington’s dictates.

The problem is that Trump’s Peace Council is little more than a PR stunt. The supervisory council for Gaza remains more aspiration than reality, and the Palestinian technocratic government sits in Cairo waiting for Israel to open the Rafah crossing. Gaza will likely continue to live amid ruins; its residents will remain in tents without basic services; Hamas will maneuver to secure its place in whatever entity emerges; the UAE and Saudi Arabia will keep fighting over control of the Palestinian Authority; and Israel will remain stuck in Gaza for the foreseeable future.

As for Hamas — its fate will likely be determined in Tehran. If the Iranian regime is forced to accept the American dictate and Israel’s demand to abandon its nuclear program, Hamas will also be compelled to give up its “resistance” doctrine — and peace might descend upon our region.