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United States President Donald Trump hailed a “tremendous day for the Middle East” as he and regional leaders signed a declaration meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, hours after Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners.
Trump made a lightning visit to Israel, where he lauded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to parliament, before flying to Egypt for a Gaza summit where he and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye signed the declaration as guarantors to the Gaza deal.
“This is a tremendous day for the world, it’s a tremendous day for the Middle East,” Trump said as more than two dozen world leaders sat down to talk in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
He later declared that the assembled leaders had “achieved what everybody said was impossible”.
“At long last, we have peace in the Middle East,” Trump said in a speech.
According to the document, the signatories pledged to “pursue a comprehensive vision of peace, security and shared prosperity in the region”, and also welcomed “the progress achieved in establishing comprehensive and durable peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip”.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said the Gaza deal “closes a painful chapter in human history” and sets the stage for a two-state solution.
“For so many families across this land, it has been years since you’ve known a single day of true peace,” Trump said earlier in the day during his address to Israel’s parliament, where he received a lengthy standing ovation.
“Not only for Israelis, but also for Palestinians and for many others, the long and painful nightmare is finally over.”
What’s next for the Gaza peace process?
Trump’s visit to the Middle East aims to celebrate his role in brokering last week’s ceasefire and hostage release deal — but much remains to be negotiated.
Among the potential sticking points are Hamas’s refusal to disarm and Israel’s failure to pledge full withdrawal from the devastated territory.
The US leader, however, repeatedly signalled he was confident the ceasefire would hold, saying at a joint appearance with Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh that talks on the next steps of the plan had already “started, as far as we’re concerned”.
He briefly met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the summit, which representatives of Israel and Hamas did not attend, and departed in the evening.
On Monday, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem urged Trump and the mediators of the Gaza deal to “continue monitoring Israel’s conduct and to ensure it does not resume its aggression against our people”.
