Who is Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy?
In the year On January 7, 2025, President-elect Donald Trump will step up negotiations with Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to end a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s chosen Middle East envoy, is said to have played a key role in maintaining the country’s security. Cease fire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas before Trump returns to the White House next week.
Sources told Fox News Digital that while both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration have exerted strategic pressure to finalize the deal, the weekend meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Witkoff was a factor in the outcome.
Current President Trump and Steve Witkoff (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images/File)
Witkoff’s assertions were said to be convincing. It was announced that Netanyahu would withdraw from the coalition despite threats from the right-wing party to accept the agreement.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, during his conversation with Netanyahu, Witkoff “made it clear to his host that he expected Trump to agree to a deal.”
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Trump’s incoming White House press secretary, Carolyn Levitt, said on X Tuesday: “Let’s be clear: This deal would not have happened without the strong hand of President Trump and his special envoy @SteveWitkoff. We will still be strong and peaceful.”
Steve Witkoff, founder and CEO of The Witkoff Group LLC, speaks with former President Trump during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Given Witkoff’s history, it may seem like an odd choice to serve in a diplomatic role. Before Trump took office, Witkoff “was not known to have any diplomatic or Middle East experience,” The National reported.
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Witkoff is a Jewish, billionaire real estate developer and investor who founded the Witkoff Group.
“Witkoff is not a diplomat. He does not speak like a diplomat, he has no interest in diplomatic etiquette and diplomatic protocols,” a senior Israeli diplomat told Haaretz. “He is a businessman who wants to get a deal done quickly and charges forward with unusual force.”
A top line of the Witkoff group (One High Line/FOXBusiness)
Like Trump, Witkoff is originally from New York but moved to Florida in recent years.
Trump and Witkoff are close friends. Witkoff served on the first Trump administration’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Task Force to combat the economic impact of the pandemic, and was also selected to lead Trump’s incoming inauguration committee.
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Witkoff is married and he and his wife have three sons, one born in 2011. He died in 2011 due to prescription drugs. Witkoff and one of his surviving sons both spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer.
Fox News Efrat Lachter, Danielle Wallace and Trey Yingst contributed to this report.