Trump says he may go to the Middle East for Gaza deal
Trump says he may travel to the Middle East this weekend as his negotiators seek to seal a captives-for-ceasefire deal in Gaza. Trump said at the White House that a deal is “very close” and he may depart on Saturday. He spoke after talking to his team about the talks being held in Egypt.
“‘Peace for the Middle East,’ that’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close, and they’re doing very well,” Trump said. “We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and there are, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen.”
‘Nothing firm yet’ on Trump going to Egypt
Let’s be clear, nothing’s firm yet. Trump said there is the possibility that they would go late on Saturday, possibly on Sunday as well. He said he had been speaking to his teams in the Middle East.
Clearly, there are grounds for optimism that things are moving forward. But as we have said many times over the last two years, there is no deal until there’s a deal. So there’s still a lot of talking to be done, a lot of technical work to be done.
Donald Trump would very much like to be part of any peace deal in the Middle East. And clearly, while the negotiators are in the Middle East, he is some distance away; he would like to be there … for any signing of a deal.
He'll just go for the photo op if a deal actually happens.
Jared Kushner’s presence in Egypt amid negotiations ‘suspicious’
It’s laughable. He doesn’t have an official position in the administration as far as I know.
[Trump’s son-in-law Jared] Kushner’s probably going to be talking a lot to Ron Dermer, Netanyahu’s man in Cairo. I think it’s quite suspicious. His presence there is to make sure that everything the Israelis want is delivered.
And as you know, we know from previous negotiations, not only under Trump, but under all American presidents, that nothing is given to Hamas or the Palestinians or to Arab partners in the negotiations until it goes through Israel.
So I think he is probably there as traffic police, just to make sure that things go through Israel first before they go to the Arabs and the Palestinians.
Trump may announce end of Gaza war if deal reached: Source
A senior Palestinian source tells Al Jazeera mediators in Egypt have assured the Palestinian delegation that if an agreement is reached, US President Donald Trump will announce the end of the war in Gaza.
Here’s more on what the source said:
- The mediators understood the Palestinian request regarding withdrawal maps from deep inside the cities in Gaza prior to the release of captives.
- Mediators asked both the Palestinian and Israeli delegations to set Friday as the final deadline for negotiations.
- Hamas agreed to release all Israeli captives and postpone handing over the bodies until field conditions allow.
- Progress has been made on issues including lists for captive exchange and guarantees to prevent a return to war after the release of Israeli captives.
- Mediators are currently meeting with the Israeli delegation to obtain final answers on the outstanding issues.
- Meetings between the mediators and the Palestinian delegation have concluded, and the mediators have now moved to meet the Israeli delegation.
