The strategy behind Trump’s threat to Hamas

President-elect Donald Trump on Monday issued a harsh threat against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas stating that if the Israeli hostages being held in the Gaza Strip are not released by the day he takes office, there will be "hell to pay" in the Middle East.

The aim of Trump's warning, noted renowned analyst Ron Ben Yishai for Israeli news portal Ynet, is to accelerate the largely secret negotiations underway involving the United States, Israel, Egypt and probably Turkey.

Ben Yishai remarked that while Qatar is also still involved in the talks to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, it has a secondary role since it decided to expel the leadership of the Palestinian terrorist organization from the country. In fact, according to the Israeli analyst, Trump's threat also indirectly targets the Qataris, who have harbored Hamas leaders in their country and continue to fund the group.

Ben Yishai suggested that Trump's warning did not come from his negotiating team, but from a joint Israeli and Biden administration initiative. This is because the current U.S. president wants to score an achievement before leaving office, while the Republican wants to start his term without having to get involved in the war in Gaza, or any other, to focus on the United States.

What can Trump do against Hamas?

Trump's threat is not related to a U.S. military strike on Hamas; Israel is dealing with that issue. However, Ben Yishai indicated that the president-elect has three tools at his disposal to pressure the terror group and force it to move forward in negotiations to release hostages.

Trump can pressure Hamas financially by shutting down charities linked to the terror group in North America and trying to influence the Europeans to do the same and, as mentioned, by putting pressure on Qatar to stop providing its large donations to the Palestinian terror group.

Trump may also put pressure on Iran, whose government is the main backer of Hamas, after the Iranian regime reportedly expressed concern about sanctions that the incoming U.S. administration would impose on Tehran.

The New York Times revealed recently that, given these concerns, Iran suspended an attack on Israel following the counteroffensive carried out by the Jewish state late in October.

The Iranian regime even pressured Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah to try to reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel, which was eventually sealed last week.

In this way, Iran could also pressure Hamas to reach a ceasefire agreement that includes the release of the hostages.

And finally, Trump can also put pressure on the Gazan population as a whole by announcing that the U.S. will not collaborate in the reconstruction of Gaza if Hamas is not more flexible to reach an agreement with Israel to release the hostages.

Ben Yishai concluded that Trump has the ability to put forceful pressure on Hamas financiers and supporters, which has the potential to be very beneficial in reaching a ceasefire agreement that includes the immediate release of the hostages.