Who Is Bishara Bahbah? Trump's Palestinian-American Backchannel With Hamas

Newsweek

3 days ago

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With reports of a new setback in the White House's efforts to strike a new ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the man serving as an unofficial conduit between President Donald Trump and the Palestinian militant group has increasingly emerged in the spotlight.
Bishara Bahbah is a Palestinian-American activist and academic whose position in facilitating talks between the Trump administration and Hamas was first revealed earlier this month by the Times of Israel, following discussions that led to the release of dual U.S.-Israeli national Edan Alexander from Gaza.
He's since been tasked with helping to secure a broader agreement that would involve the release of additional hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a temporary ceasefire. Yet diverging details have surfaced of the proposal put forth by Trump's official representative, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Bishara Bahbah, then serving as national chairman for Arab Americans for Trump, answers questions during an interview with the Associated Press, on August 14, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan.
Bishara Bahbah, then serving as national chairman for Arab Americans for Trump, answers questions during an interview with the Associated Press, on August 14, 2024, in Dearborn, Michigan.
Jose Juarez/AP
After Reuters reported Monday, citing an unnamed Palestinian official, that Hamas had agreed to the U.S. offer, Witkoff dismissed the news, saying that what he had seen from Hamas was "completely unacceptable."
Newsweek has reached out to Bahbah, the Israeli Consulate General in New York, Hamas and the White House for comment.
From Scholar to Statesman
Bahbah was born in 1958 in East Jerusalem to parents who fled the first Arab-Israeli war over competing Israeli and Palestinian territorial claims. His family settled in the United States in the 1970s, according to the New Arab, and he went on to earn a finance degree at Harvard University.
Bahbah held a number of positions, including editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem-based newspaper Al-Fajr and associate director of Harvard's Middle East Institute, before serving as a representative to Middle East arms control and regional security peace talks.
He outlined his views regarding past and future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during a February 2021 interview with the Wilson Center.
"With regarding to the format of any future negotiations, I think that they should be more interactive," Bahbah said at the time. "You don't make policies by reading speeches. You make policies by sitting together and outlining each other's concerns regarding the issues that they are negotiating over. The parties should be clear about what each side hopes to achieve because of those negotiations. The more face-to-face negotiations are, the more they will tend to be fruitful."
"And in negotiations, if you start with posturing, you get nowhere, because it then becomes a zero-sum exercise," he added. "Successful negotiations happen when the two sides see the benefits that each side hopes to achieve from those negotiations."
Bahbah also served as managing director of the charity United Palestinian Appeal and founded the Palestine Center, both based in Washington, D.C.
A longtime Democrat, according to an interview conducted last June by TRT World, he broke with President Joe Biden's administration over its handling of the war in Gaza, which erupted in October 2023 following a Hamas-led attack on Israel. He first joined the Trump campaign last May, establishing "Arab Americans for a Better America," followed by "Arab Americans for Trump" to rally Arab support for the Republican candidate.
Bahbah has also expressed criticism of Trump's approach to the conflict, however, rebranding "Arab Americans for Trump" to "Arab Americans for Peace" in response to Trump's proposal of resettling Palestinians outside of Gaza in February.
Yet he appears to have only grown more central to Trump's attempts to secure a new ceasefire deal after the previous agreement brokered by the incoming administration's team, spearheaded by Witkoff, along with Biden's outgoing team in January unraveled in March.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a swearing-in ceremony for Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House on May 06, 2025 in Washington, DC.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a swearing-in ceremony for Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House on May 06, 2025 in Washington, DC.Bahbah told Israel's Channel 12 outlet last month that he was contacted directly by Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad, who asked him to open a new channel with U.S. officials, ultimately leading to Alexander's release.
Communication Breakdown
While Alexander's release appeared to signal a potential breakthrough, negotiations in Doha have continued to stall, with Qatari Prime Minister Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani citing "fundamental differences between parties" last week.
A number of Arabic-language outlets, including Al Mayadeen, Al Jazeera and Sky News Arabia reported Monday that Hamas had agreed to a U.S. deal that would include a ceasefire lasting between 60 and 70 days, as well as U.S. guarantees that Israel would not immediately resume the war after this period, in exchange for the release of five living hostages on the first day of the truce and an additional five on the last day.
Axios reported Tuesday that this deal differed from Witkoff's proposal, which would entail a ceasefire lasting between 45 and 60 days in exchange for the release of 19 living hostages and 10 deceased hostages, along with the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The Axios report also cited an unnamed Israeli official alleging that Bahbah may have gone beyond the guidelines provided to him by Witkoff in negotiating with Hamas representatives in Doha.
New Operations Loom
The latest setback came as Israel prepared to intensify operations in the Gaza Strip in line with "Operations Gideon's Chariots," described by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as the second phase of its efforts to defeat Hamas, neutralize the threat posed by Gaza and return the remaining hostages held there.
IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned residents of Khan Younis, Bani Suhaila, Abasan and Al-Qaraa on Monday of an imminent "unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations," urging them to evacuate west to Al-Mawasi.
People watch as smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 25, 2025.
People watch as smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on May 25, 2025.
BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images
The IDF announced that same day that forces of the 36th Division had completed operations in Gaza's southern region of Rafah and would be advancing into Khan Younis. Their operations have led to the creation of a so-called "Morag Corridor," between the two regions, establishing a third axis of Israeli control in Gaza following the IDF's earlier establishment of control over the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Rafah and Egypt, and the Netzarim Corridor between Gaza City and northern Gaza.
Yet Israel's offensive has also been met with growing international condemnation, as well as indications of a growing rift between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump reiterated his desire for Israel to conclude the war in a timely manner, a sentiment he had repeatedly conveyed to Netanyahu prior to taking office in January.
"We want to see if we can stop that," Trump said. "And Israel, we've been talking to them, and we want to see if we can stop that whole situation as quickly as possible."
With Israeli officials cited by Israeli outlets rejecting Hamas' latest proposal on Monday, Netanyahu initially appeared to indicate that a breakthrough on talks was imminent, saying "I really hope we can announce something regarding the hostages, if not today, then tomorrow" in a video statement.
However, a senior Israeli official cited by the Times of Israel later downplayed the remarks, saying the "the prime minister meant that we will not give up on freeing our hostages, and if we don't achieve that, hopefully in the coming days, we will achieve it later on."
Hamas, meanwhile, has continued to call for global pressure against Israel over its "its brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip, which escalates its war of genocide and starvation against defenseless civilians, children, and women for 600 days; in a blatant violation of all international norms, laws, and divine teachings, and in shameless disregard for all UN resolutions and the positions of nations rejecting such crimes," according to a statement issued Tuesday.
The group called for "days of global rage" to be held worldwide this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"We the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), renew our call to the masses of our Ummah (Islamic world) and the free people worldwide to intensify all forms of global mobilization and action in cities and squares across the world against the aggression, genocide, and starvation inflicted upon our people in the Gaza Strip," the group said.