In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, key negotiators for President Trump in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, revealed their feelings of betrayal following Israel's airstrikes on Qatar during peace talks. The strike, which targeted senior Hamas leadership in Doha, was a decision made by Prime Minister Netanyahu, not Trump, as the latter noted on social media.
Witkoff expressed his sentiment, stating, 'I think both Jared and I felt, I just feel we felt a little bit betrayed.' Kushner added, 'He felt like the Israelis were getting a little bit out of control and that it was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests.'
According to Witkoff, the strike in Qatar had a detrimental effect on the negotiations, as Qatar was a crucial link to Hamas. He explained, 'It had a metastasizing effect because the Qataris were critical to the negotiation, as were the Egyptians and the Turks. We had lost the confidence of the Qataris. And so Hamas went underground, and it was very, very difficult to get to them.'
Despite the setback, Israel and Hamas eventually agreed to a deal for Hamas to release all remaining hostages and for Israel to withdraw its forces to an agreed-upon line. On Monday, 20 living hostages were released, and Hamas has also handed over the remains of other deceased hostages.
The full report on 'The Dealmakers' will air on 60 Minutes on Sunday, providing further insights into the negotiations and the next phase of the 20-point peace plan, which includes disarmament, troop pullback, rebuilding, and post-war governance in Gaza.
