Trump and the Gaza deal: Thinking big, acting smart-opinion

Presidents and politicians have been trying to bring about world peace and, notably, to solve the pivotal conflict in the Middle East for decades. While several have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their fruitless efforts, none have been able to seal the deal. Until renowned entrepreneur and now-US President Donald Trump.

Trump’s world vision is not “peace at any cost,” but the creation of a sustainable order and arrangements that prevent war and allow life to go on.

Since he proposed the Gaza deal, Hamas has returned 20 living hostages and another 20 fallen to Israel as a result of negotiations, and a fragile though real ceasefire is now in place.

Phase two of the Gaza reconstruction and stabilization plan is also emerging, which could lead to normalization with Saudi Arabia and perhaps even cautious dialogue with Syria.

Out of necessity, Israel-Turkey relations are beginning to improve.

Concurrently, Washington is tightening its Indo-Pacific strategy, building military and economic alliances with India, Japan, and Australia to counter China’s rise.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are also being drawn into that orbit.

It is by applying the mindset described in his book to the geopolitical chessboard of our region that Trump is achieving what many thought impossible. He understands that vision comes before details – and that those who begin with minutiae can get lost in them.

Effective negotiation does not open with the small print but with the big picture, thus avoiding legal and technical minefields that derail collaboration before it begins.

In business, rushing to draft an overly detailed contract too early can kill a deal.

Principles, shared goals, and long-term objectives must be agreed upon to build a conceptual framework inspiring identification, trust, and partnership. Only once crucial groundwork is established, rooted in vision and mutual purpose, does it become possible to move on to specifics and mechanisms.

Signing a preliminary memorandum of understanding creates goodwill, momentum, and a sense of stability.

That’s exactly how Trump operated. He and Netanyahu signed a conceptual outline, which generated public euphoria, before moving into the operational phase.

This second stage requires discipline and courage to stand firm at critical junctions, as well as flexibility when it serves the end goal. Too much precision too soon can stop the train from leaving the station.

For Trump, negotiations are not a technical process of numbers and clauses. To him, every deal is a carefully orchestrated story with characters, headlines, drama, and timing.

As he famously wrote, “If you’re going to be thinking anyway, think BIG.”

In New York, Trump didn’t just build another tower. He built the Trump Tower: “The most luxurious residential tower ever built.” The grandeur of the vision created legitimacy, attracted investors, and mobilized the city bureaucracy.

Trump always minimizes his personal exposure, using small investments and sharp exit mechanisms.

In the Gaza framework, he transferred the risks: Qatar and Egypt carry the diplomatic and financial burden, Israel and Hamas absorb the pressure, and the US reserves the right to disengage if the deal collapses.

Guarding the downside is what keeps the vision alive.

Trump has mastered the art of “imagined alternatives.” Even when locked on one path, he makes others believe that multiple doors are open.

In Gaza, he engaged several channels at once: Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, making each aware that there were other partners. This produced pressure, competition, and movement.

In Manhattan, Trump leaked stories to newspapers as a way of persuading city officials.

In the diplomatic arena, the White House launched a coordinated campaign of strategic leaks, creating expectation around a “historic agreement.” Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, and the international community felt public momentum pushing the deal forward.

Trump’s persistence is legendary: “Sit in the lobby until someone breaks.”

The Gaza proposals were repeatedly reshaped, reframed, reoffered, and rebranded until exhaustion bred flexibility. Political and public time pressure also became a weapon.

In negotiations, stamina beats status.

Promoting a luxury hotel long before construction began, Trump made Hilton chase him in the 1985 Atlantic City hotel-casino deal.

Likewise, he unveiled his “vision for peace,” complete with maps, graphics, and glossy brochures, long before any consensus existed. The vision shaped reality.

For Trump, vision means nothing without execution.

Even without his Gaza framework being fully realized, he secured critical milestones, such as Qatari funding, Egyptian oversight, Israeli tactical adjustments, and a foundation for future regional accords.

He didn’t invent a new diplomatic doctrine. He simply applied business logic to global strategy.

Narrative control, alternative options, media leverage, persistence, and hands-on execution, his business strategies, tools from 1980s New York, have been repurposed for 21st-century geopolitics.

The actors have changed, developers have been replaced by nations, contractors by mediators, and treaties have taken the place of permits, but the director has remained the same.

Ultimately, in today’s world, whoever controls the story controls the negotiation. At times, perfection kills progress, and one needs to sign the imperfect deal to move the train forward because opportunities expire faster than contracts do.

In diplomacy as in business, vision is the beginning and trust is the engine