US President Donald Trump has not been awarded with his much-desired Nobel Peace Prize although he did manage to bring all parties together on the table regarding the Israel-Gaza ceasefire, achieving something his predecessor Joe Biden could not.
Trump. despite what his naysayers might say, did pull back the situation from possible disaster after Israel conducted an airstrike in Qatar’s capital Doha, in order to get to the Hamas top brass who were lodged at a Qatari government residential complex.
The memory of the two earlier ceasefires that had failed will still be fresh in the minds of international observers and parties directly involved with the third one. However, if this ceasefire holds, it could be an achievement Trump could boast of, especially given the context that his predecessor, Joe Biden, failed in achieving anything concrete towards peace in West Asia.
Here we try to take a look at reasons why Trump managed to achieve the ceasefire while Biden didn’t:
Trump-Netanyahu are close pals
Trump shares a strong relationship with Israel, and particularly with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has most likely helped the US President cut the clutter while negotiating with the two sides.
He even showed his commitment to Israel by launching airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities using B10 bombers, an act Netanyahu himself praised in a press conference.
Biden, on the other hand, was often publicly critical of Netanyahu, and had not developed a close personal relationship with him. The former US president had said that Israel’s response to Gaza was “over the top”, and that Netanyahu’s actions were “hurting Israel more than helping Israel.”
Trump’s Arab visits helped US come closer to West Asia
Trump, besides his friendship with Netanyahu, is also close with leaders of West Asian nations. Both his presidential terms even began with official trips to Saudi Arabia. In 2025, the US President also landed in Abu Dhabi and Doha.
In his first term, the US President’s standout diplomatic achievement was the Abraham Accords, which help ease tensions between Muslim states like the UAE and Israel.
During his West Asia visit this time, Trump landed in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, countries strongly against Israel, where he had to hear calls about ending the war plaguing the entire region.
These decisions expectedly helped him earn the trust of the Muslim world, leaders of whom he also sat down with ahead of the Gaza ceasefire.
“One of the things that clearly happened was that President Trump developed leverage with the Israelis, and indirectly with Hamas,” BBC quoted Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as saying.
Support of both Houses
Both the US Senate as well as the House of Representatives are controlled by Republicans at the moment, which has given Trump an unprecedented support in carrying out his plans as he sees fit, a perk his predecessor did not enjoy.
The unified Republican shield also protected him from backlash within the country, giving Trump room to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Syria.
European pressure
Another factor which played out in favour of Trump was the unprecedented European pressure on Israel. Countries like France and England, which for so long had been backing Israel, moved from their positions and even recognised the Palestinian state, putting pressure on Netanyahu.
Europeans and Arabs even came together to propose the French-Saudi peace plan, while Arab countries also condemned Hamas’ October 7 attacks.
