Trump convinced Netanyahu to take a deal

Can he keep him onboard?

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US PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump gestures as he poses next to a sign before a family photo at a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war, amid a US-brokered prisoner-hostage swap and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Oct. 13.

(REUTERS/SUZANNE PLUNKETT/POOL)

US President Donald J. Trump, a self-proclaimed peacemaker who has campaigned for a Nobel Prize, finally got a camera-ready diplomatic victory on Monday as world leaders flew to Egypt for the signing of the ceasefire and hostage-release deal he brokered between Israel and Hamas.

But if lasting peace is to take root, analysts and diplomats say, Mr. Trump will have to maintain pressure on the man whose support he'll need in the next phases of his plan: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US presidents from Bill Clinton to Joseph R. Biden have found the strong-willed Israeli leader difficult to work with, and even Trump administration officials have been frustrated by some Israeli military strikes they see as undermining US policy.

But this month, Mr. Trump managed to push Mr. Netanyahu into accepting his framework for a broader peace deal while persuading other Middle Eastern countries to convince Hamas to return all the Israeli hostages, its key leverage in the war.

The work could get harder from here, however.

Israel and Hamas remain sharply divided over many aspects of Mr. Trump's 20-point plan and, as Israel prepares for next year's elections, Mr. Netanyahu's approach may shift as he attempts to keep his right-wing coalition together.

"We're entering a political year where everything is related to campaigns, and Netanyahu's calculations may flip from caving to pressure to trying to ensure his political survival," said Nimrod Goren, the president of Mitvim, an Israeli foreign policy think tank.