The United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed a declaration on Monday as guarantors of a Gaza agreement aimed at ending two years of war.
“It took 3,000 years to get to this point. Can you believe it? This (agreement) is going to stick,” Trump said before signing.
“You are the only one who can achieve peace in the region,” Egyptian President Abduh – Fattah al – Sisi said during a meeting with Trump shortly before the signing. He also asked Trump to support a planned conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip that Egypt wants to hold with Germany.
The Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh is hosting a summit with more than 20 world leaders to end the war in Gaza. The summit is attended by leaders of Germany, Britain, France, Turkey, a number of European, Arab and Islamic countries. Russia has not been invited.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an invitation but declined it, citing the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.
Trump’s peace plan envisages that Hamas will be disarmed (the group already says this will not happen), that Gaza will be governed by an interim transitional Palestinian government made up of apolitical technocrats – backed by a US-led international stabilisation force in cooperation with Arab and international ones. If Hamas refuses to implement the Agreement, it will still be embodied in the “terror-free territories” handed over to the stabilisation forces by the Israeli army.
The current war began two years ago after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October. Israel responded by launching a massive campaign to not only free the hostages but also destroy Hamas. Israel’s actions have faced increasing criticism from many countries around the world, who point to the high number of civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The US supports Israel while seeking an early ceasefire and peace in the region.