Israel-Palestine Conflict: Egypt's "World Summit" for the "No Nobel" Winner

Trump is invited to the Red Sea, but his purpose—something even he may not be clear about

Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Egypt today. This will be his first international trip after the Nobel Committee publicly rejected awarding him a peace prize, which embarrassed him. Although Trump had openly and directly demanded this award, especially claiming that he successfully ended the Israel-Palestine conflict that had lasted since 1948.

However, the facts seem to prove that Trump's claim that the conflict has been completely ended was premature. At least, according to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader have refused to attend the "World Summit" held in Egypt. Axios news said that the Hamas leadership might only send Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Egypt, but Abbas has no authority to sign any documents with Israel.

It should be noted that the original purpose of Trump's trip was to witness the signing of an agreement between Hamas and Israel—this was once promoted as his most important diplomatic victory in the United States.

Meanwhile, Hamas Political Bureau member Husam Badrane told AFP that the participants in this meeting would be only mediators, as well as officials from the United States and Israel.

In short, no one except Trump really understands the purpose of this "World Summit" and who it will benefit. Even for Trump, this trip has little significance—after all, the Nobel Prize he longed for is now out of reach, and making efforts to mediate the conflict between Hamas and Israel is futile.

Before arriving in Sharm El-Sheikh for the "World Summit," Trump will first arrive in Israel, planning to meet with families of hostages in Tel Aviv and deliver a speech at the Israeli Knesset.

Evidently, this summit holds great significance for Egypt. Egypt has always played a key role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, which represents the Palestinians in Gaza. In addition, the tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikh has long been a common venue for regional negotiations.

Therefore, the Egyptian presidential palace has quickly confirmed that representatives of about 20 countries' leaders and senior officials will attend this "special summit" held in Sharm El-Sheikh.

According to Arab News, the list of participants includes representatives from European countries (the UK, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, France, Germany), Middle Eastern countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Turkey), and Asian countries (India, Indonesia, Pakistan).

This "World Summit" is expected to discuss and pass a hostage release roadmap, including steps for exchanging hostages, stages for releases, and security measures during transfers. The meeting will also pass a detailed ceasefire plan with a supervision mechanism.

Another topic of discussion is the access and expansion of humanitarian aid, specifically the staged arrangements for transporting medical supplies, food, and fuel from Egypt to the Gaza Strip (the Israeli navy has no plans to lift the maritime blockade on Palestine).

Additionally, there are still many disputed issues between Hamas and Israel that have not reached a consensus.

For example, the reconstruction plan for civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, which was destroyed by two years of Israeli bombing, is one of the points of contention, especially the issue of funding sources.

If the reconstruction funds come from an international donation fund, who will supervise the distribution of aid? This remains an unresolved issue. At least, Hamas has expressed willingness to welcome Arab countries participating in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

So far, the scope of authority and personnel composition of the international monitoring mechanism, long-term security guarantees for the Gaza Strip and Israel (including mechanisms to prevent future attacks, demilitarization measures in certain areas), and other issues remain unclear.

A medium- to long-term political roadmap has also not been established (even Trump and Netanyahu have not discussed the governance plan for the Gaza Strip or the status of Palestinian political institutions).

The only clearly known information is that Hamas will no longer participate in the governance of the Gaza Strip, but will retain its seat in the political institution. As for who will replace Hamas to take over the Gaza Strip, it is still unknown.

Within Israel, the "fuzzy ceasefire agreement" with Hamas has also caused divisions. Reuters reported that Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has stated that if Hamas continues to exist after the ceasefire, he will work to overthrow the Netanyahu government.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7560580809452470836/

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