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Donald Trump, in his first term, tries to make peace his way, and Israel hopes it can contain Hamas in Gaza while building new alliances – before October 7th.

When Donald Trump took office in 2017, he tore up the rulebook on how to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, holding talks with the Israelis without the Palestinians – nothing was off the table. Netanyahu, meanwhile, had his own bold plans: looking to build alliances with Israel’s Arab neighbours who had never before recognised Israel, while hoping to keep Hamas contained in Gaza.

Top officials recall how, in the years before the October 7th attacks, Trump and Netanyahu’s moves proved divisive – and how key players on all sides were blindsided when the attacks came.

Interviewees include Tony Blair, in his role as special representative for the Quartet – a group set up to mediate Middle East peace talks - as well as Trump’s ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, Israeli national security adviser Jacob Nagel, and senior Palestinian officials, including lead negotiator Saeb Erekat in the last interview that gave before he died. There are also rare interviews with Hamas’s leaders Khaled Meshal and Ismail Haniyeh.

Release date:

59 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Director Tim Stirzaker
Series Producer Norma Percy
Executive Producer Lucy Hetherington