Greg Landsman, the Democratic congressman from Cincinnati and a staunch supporter of Israel, gives President Donald Trump his due for his role in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza that has resulted in both Hamas and Israel releasing prisoners and an end to the fighting, at least for now.
What has him concerned, though, is whether Trump has the attention span to continue on the path to permanent peace.
“It’s going to be incumbent on President Trump — and this is what has me worried — to stick with this process and see it through to the end,’’ Landsman said in an interview with WVXU.
“My worry is that he is going to move on very quickly to something else.’’
There already is some compelling evidence that Landsman may be right about Trump’s attention span.
The ink was barely dry on the ceasefire agreement signed in Egypt Sunday when Trump revived his efforts to negotiate an end to the long-standing war in Ukraine, invaded by Russian troops in Feb. 2022. While running for a second term as president last year, Trump repeatedly promised to end that war on “day number one” of his return to the White House.
That, of course, didn't happen.
Now, though, Trump has put together a coalition of about 40 nations to oversee the process of turning a temporary ceasefire into permanent peace in Gaza, while at the same time juggling the Ukraine dilemma.
“It’s so unusual for an American president to be chair of a coalition of nations that will work as a functioning government for Gaza,” Landsman said. “It’s not clear how this is going to work.”
Landsman is Jewish and has visited Israel many times, both as a member of Congress and a private citizen. His support of Israel and its right to exist has made him a frequent target of pro-Palestinian protestors, both at public appearances and outside his Mount Washington home.
But unlike Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Landsman favors a “two-state solution” in the region — where both the Israelis and the Palestinians have separate states recognized by the international community.
“This won’t be easy and it’s not going to happen over the course of a few days or weeks,” Landsman said.
The good news, according to Landsman, is that “Israel has already won militarily in the region. The Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah — all have been beaten.”
“But what we need to see from this coalition is a plan to free Gaza from the grip of Hamas,” Landsman said. “You can’t expect a legitimate chance of rebuilding Gaza if Hamas is still there.”
Securing the ceasefire, with the release of 20 Hamas hostages in Gaza and the release by Israel of about 2,000 Palestinian political prisoners in the West Bank, is an “impressive” start, Landsman said.
“All of this adds up to a historic moment,’’ Landsman said. “But we can’t let up. The process must continue.”
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