In the days and weeks preceding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival in Washington on Monday to meet with President Donald Trump, Israeli officials and right-wing allies of Netanyahu in the United States have attacked Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and Qatar’s role as a critical broker of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement.
The effort to undermine Witkoff and Qatar raises fears among ceasefire supporters that while Netanyahu outwardly supports the Trump-backed ceasefire deal, he is quietly trying to delay — or even scuttle — the second phase of the ceasefire, which would fully end the war in Gaza.
“They’re undermining President Donald Trump,” said an American close to both the Trump administration and Gulf Arab countries, who requested anonymity to speak without authorization. “It’s President Donald Trump’s deal, and President Donald Trump’s best friend who’s his official representative on the deal.”
Witkoff, a wealthy…
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