US president-elect demanded a deal – while success against Iran and Hezbollah, and changed Israeli coalition arithmetic, gave Israeli PM room to make one

The phone call from Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steven Witkoff, surprised the aides of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Calling from Doha in Qatar last Friday evening, after shabbat had already begun, Witkoff announced he was coming to Israel and would meet with Netanyahu. Overruling the suggestion of Netanyahu’s aides that they could meet once the Jewish day of rest was over, Witkoff, 67 – a billionaire lawyer and real estate developer – insisted brusquely that they meet in the morning.