Israel - Hamas ceasefire deal: why now? Part III: Incentives facing Israel.

Netanyahu pleases Trump and hopes to cash-out this goodwill with future asks.

• It is no secret that Trump wanted this deal real bad: he wanted to start his term by proving that the period of chaos under the Biden admin was going to end with Trump back in office.

• And unlike Biden (who endlessly talked about humanitarian issues around Gaza, and frequently berated Israel - stopping short of actual application of leverage), Trump has previously demonstrated willingness to be rough with Netanyahu.

• The Trump - Netanyahu relations have not always been smooth and Trump was especially irritated with Netanyahu when the latter was displaying intransigence and dragging his feet at the time of Abraham accords negotiations.

• More recently, Steve Witkoff played a pivotal role in the last minute shuttle diplomacy between Qatar and Israel, and there is this interesting anecdote that demonstrates the willingness of Trump’s new team to dispense with excessive niceties.

• During one of his trips, in response to a notification that Netanyahu was unavailable during Sabbath, Steve Witkoff allegedly gave a “salty” reply, making it clear he didn’t care if it was the Jewish day of rest.

• In other words, someone willing to butt heads was back in office, and it would have been extremely counterproductive to start relations on a bad note.

• This is especially so, given that there are plenty of areas where Netanyahu will need to use this goodwill.

• Netanyahu simply needs Trump in addressing the following strategic challenges: