A firm phone call to Netanyahu… Who is calling and what is the message?

The phone call made by President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Stephen Witkoff, surprised aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the British newspaper The Guardian.

Witkopf said during the call that he was coming to Israel and would meet with Netanyahu, ignoring the suggestion of Netanyahu’s aides that they meet as soon as the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, ends, and insisted that they meet in the morning.

In what some Israeli media described as a “tense meeting,” Witkoff delivered his message.

What happened, a senior Israeli government official told Channel 14, “is that Witkopf conveyed a stern message from the next president of the United States, who unequivocally demanded the deal be concluded.”

In an article he wrote in the Yedioth Ahronoth daily newspaper this week, Nadav Eyal summarized the situation facing the Israeli prime minister and his closest aides: “Netanyahu suddenly realized exactly where they stand with the new American president. They realize that Trump speaks at the pace of dictation, and they will never be able to get around him from the right. “Trump, once again, wants a deal.”

Netanyahu thanked President Trump in a phone call for his efforts and assistance in reaching an agreement to return the hostages and putting “an end to the suffering of dozens of hostages and their families.”

The statement issued by Netanyahu’s office explained that the latter agreed to meet Trump soon in Washington, adding that the Israeli Prime Minister also thanked US President Joe Biden for his help in the hostage deal in a phone call.