Biden admin discussing Middle East peace talks with Trump team

In the wake of Trump’s victory on Election Day, a ceasefire deal brokered by the Biden administration was agreed to by Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, bringing to an end over a year of fighting. The Wall Street Journal reported that the near silence from Trump and his advisors regarding the agreement is a "rare sign of tacit agreement" between the two administrations.

The approach from Biden to seek a peace deal before the end of his term in the Middle East would be a win for both presidents, the outlet reported, saying that Biden would get a "legacy-defining foreign-policy win before he departs in January" and Trump would have "one fewer global crisis that he will have to handle."

Ron Dermer, a close Netanyahu confidant and Israel’s strategic affairs minister, met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago earlier in November to brief him on the Lebanon talks. Israeli officials said that Trump had signed off on the plan and expressed hope that the deal would be completed before he begins his second term.

On Wednesday, Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan said that he has kept Trump’s nominee for national security advisor Mike Waltz "apprised at every step" during negotiations on the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. US envoy Amos Hochstein has said that he has spoken with members of Trump’s team, including Waltz, about the agreement to ensure "we get a seamless transition."

A senior Biden administration official told the outlet that Trump aides agree that completing the ceasefire deal was good for the US, Israel, and Lebanon. The official said, "Most important, doing it now versus later will save countless lives on both sides."

With a ceasefire reached between the two nations, Biden’s focus has shifted towards reaching a deal in Gaza between Hamas terrorists and Israel. Egyptian and Arab mediators said that diplomatic activity is underway to do so, with an Egyptian negotiating team in Tel Aviv for Talks and Qatar’s prime minister is in Cairo pushing for a deal. Egyptian officials have also been in touch with Trump’s team to see if he could convince Israel to compromise on some key points, and Cairo has informed Hamas that it is isolated after Hezbollah’s ceasefire deal.

On Tuesday, Biden said, "The US will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza with the hostages released and the end to the war without Hamas in power."