The U.S. and Egyptian presidents are chairing a gathering of world leaders dubbed “Summit for Peace” on Monday to support ending the greater than two-year Israel–Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal.
Israel and Hamas haven’t any direct contacts and weren’t expected to attend Monday’s summit. The Israeli prime minister’s office said Benjamin Netanyahu won’t travel to the venue due to a Jewish holiday.
Israel has rejected any role in Gaza for the internationally backed Palestinian Authority, whose leader, Mahmoud Abbas, arrived within the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh early on Monday afternoon, ahead of the gathering.
The summit comes as Hamas released 20 remaining living Israeli hostages and Israel began to free a whole lot of Palestinians from its prisons, crucial steps after a ceasefire began on Friday.
But major questions remain unanswered over what happens next, raising the chance of slide back into war — whilst the world pushes for peace.
A brand new page
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s office said the summit goals to “end the war” in Gaza and “usher in a brand new page of peace and regional stability” according to U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision.
The 2 sides got here under pressure from the US, Arab countries and Turkey to agree on the ceasefire’s first phase negotiated in Qatar.
In March, Egypt proposed a postwar plan for Gaza that may allow its 2.3 million people to stay. On the time, that was a counterproposal to a Trump plan to depopulate the territory.
The 2 leaders co-chairing the international summit signals that they’re working together on a path forward.
Ahead of the gathering, Egypt’s foreign minister said it was also crucial that Israel and Hamas fully implement the primary phase of the deal in order that the parties, with international backing, can begin negotiations on the second phase.
The success of Trump’s vision for Mideast peace is his continued commitment to the method, including applying pressure on the parties, engagement and “even deployment on the bottom” with international forces expected to perform peacekeeping duties in the following phase, said Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.
“We’d like American engagement, even deployment on the bottom, to discover the mission, task and mandate of this force,” Abdelatty told The Associated Press.
Directly tackling the remaining issues in depth is unlikely on the gathering, expected to last about two hours. El-Sissi and Trump are expected to issue a joint statement after it ends.
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Under the primary phase, Israeli troops pulled back from some parts of Gaza, allowing a whole lot of 1000’s of Palestinians in Gaza to return home from areas they were forced to evacuate. Aid groups are preparing to usher in large quantities of aid kept out of the territory for months.
Critical challenges ahead
The negotiations could have to tackle the problems of disarming Hamas, making a post-war government for Gaza and the extent of Israel’s withdrawal from the territory. Trump’s plan also stipulates that regional and international partners will work to develop the core of a brand new Palestinian security force.
Abdelatty said the international force needs a U.N. Security Council resolution to endorse its deployment and mandate as a peacekeeping force.
One other major issue is raising funds for rebuilding Gaza. The World Bank, and Egypt’s postwar plan, estimate reconstruction and recovery needs in Gaza at $53 billion. Egypt plans to host a future reconstruction conference.
Before the truce was agreed on, Israel and Hamas — staunch enemies who’ve little trust in one another and various failed negotiations behind them — held negotiations in Doha, Qatar’s capital, through indirect talks, with Egypt and Qatar as meditators.
Iran, a principal backer of Hamas, can also be not attending the summit in Egypt because the Islamic Republic finds itself at one in every of its weakest moments since its 1979 revolution. Iranian officials portrayed the ceasefire deal as a victory for Hamas.
The deal nevertheless, underlined Iran’s waning influence within the region and revived concerns over possible renewed conflict with Israel because it still struggles to get better from the 12-day war in June.
A state function
The summit in Egypt is more likely to see world leaders praise Trump’s push for the ceasefire. For his part, el-Sissi is nearly actually relieved that plans to depopulate the Gaza Strip have been ditched.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani are attending. Turkey, which hosted Hamas political leaders for years, played a key role in bringing in regards to the ceasefire agreement.
King Abdullah of Jordan is among the many expected attendees. His country, alongside Egypt, will train the brand new Palestinian security force.
Germany, one in every of Israel’s strongest international backers and top suppliers of military equipment, plans to be represented by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He has expressed concern over Israel’s conduct of the war and its plan for a military takeover of Gaza.
Britain’s Prime Minister is Keir Starmer is among the many leaders attending. He has said will pledge 20 million British kilos (27 million dollars) to assist provide water and sanitation for Gaza and said Britain will host a three-day conference to coordinate plans for Gaza’s reconstruction and recovery.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, European Union President António Costa and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are attending.
The venue
Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, has been host to many peace negotiations up to now many years.
The town was briefly occupied by Israel for a yr in 1956. After Israel withdrew, a United Nations peacekeeping force was stationed there until 1967, when Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the peacekeepers to go away, a move that precipitated the Six-Day War that yr.
Sharm el-Sheikh and the remainder of the Sinai Peninsula were returned to Egypt in 1982, following a 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
Though now more known for luxury beach resorts, dive sites and desert tours, Sharm el-Sheikh has also hosted many peace summits and rounds of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians under President Hosni Mubarak, ousted in 2011, in addition to other international conferences.
Monday’s gathering is the primary peace summit under el-Sissi.
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