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World Leaders Support Gaza Ceasefire 10/13 06:07
Egypt's foreign minister told The Associated Press on Monday that the
success of U.S. President Donald Trump's vision for peace in the region is his
continued commitment to the process, including applying pressure on the
parties, engagement and "even deployment on the ground" with international
forces expected to carry out peacekeeping duties in the next phase.
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) -- Egypt's foreign minister told The Associated
Press on Monday that the success of U.S. President Donald Trump's vision for
peace in the region is his continued commitment to the process, including
applying pressure on the parties, engagement and "even deployment on the
ground" with international forces expected to carry out peacekeeping duties in
the next phase.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Monday that it's crucial to ensure that
Israel and Hamas fully implement the first phase of the ceasefire deal so that
the parties, with international backing, can begin negotiations on the second
phase.
The international force needs a U.N. Security Council resolution to endorse
its deployment, he said.
"We need American engagement, even deployment on the ground, to identify the
mission, task and mandate of this force," Abdelatty said.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) -- The U.S. and Egyptian presidents are chairing
a gathering of world leaders dubbed "the Summit for Peace" to support ending
the more than two-year war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal.
Israel and Hamas have no direct contacts and were not expected to attend
Monday's summit.
Israel has rejected any role in Gaza for the internationally backed
Palestinian Authority, whose leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is attending.
Leaders from Turkey, Jordan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, the United
Nations and European Union also have all said they will attend.
The summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh comes on
the same day that Hamas released 20 remaining living Israeli hostages and
Israel is to free hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons, crucial steps
after a ceasefire began on Friday.
But major questions remain unanswered over what happens next, raising the
risk of slide back into war.
So why are the world leaders meeting?
A new page
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi's office said the summit aims to
"end the war" in Gaza and "usher in a new page of peace and regional stability"
in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's vision.
The two sides came under pressure from the United States, Arab countries and
Turkey to agree on the ceasefire's first phase negotiated in Qatar.
Now, as the hostage release and prisoner exchange were underway, the summit
in Sharm el-Sheikh seeks to rally international support behind the next, more
complex, phase of the proposed deal, including technical and financial
committment.
In March, Egypt proposed a postwar plan for Gaza that would allow its 2.3
million people to remain. At the time, that was a counterproposal to a Trump
plan to depopulate the territory.
The two leaders co-chairing the international summit signals that they are
working together on a path forward.
Directly tackling the remaining issues in depth is unlikely at the
gathering, expected to last about two hours. El-Sissi and Trump are expected to
issue a joint statement after it ends.
Under the first phase, Israeli troops pulled back from some parts of Gaza,
allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza to return home from
areas they were forced to evacuate. Aid groups are preparing to bring in large
quantities of aid kept out of the territory for months.
Hostage and prisoner exchange: Logistical challenge
The negotiations will have to tackle the issues of disarming Hamas, creating
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 new Palestinian security force.
Another 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.
Who is missing?
Hamas.
The two primary parties to the conflict -- staunch enemies who have little
trust in each other and a number of failed negotiations behind them -- are not
attending face to face.
Negotiations in Doha and in previous rounds were indirect, with Egypt and
Qatar as meditators.
Iran, a main backer of Hamas, is not attending either, even though it
received an invite.
Iran finds itself at one of its weakest moments since its 1979 Islamic
Revolution. Iranian officials portrayed the ceasefire deal as a victory for
Hamas but it underlined Iran's waning influence in the region and revived
concerns over possible renewed conflict with Israel as it still struggles to
recover from the 12-day war in June.
A state function
The conference is likely to see world leaders praise Trump's push for the
ceasefire. For his part, El-Sissi is almost certainly relieved that Egypt has
warded off plans to depopulate the Gaza Strip.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to attend. Turkey, which
hosted Hamas political leaders for years, played a key role in bringing about
the ceasefire agreement. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are
also expected.
King Abdullah of Jordan is among the expected attendees. His country,
alongside Egypt, will train the new Palestinian security force.
Germany, one 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. He plans on co-hosting the reconstruction of Gaza
conference with Egypt.
Britain's Prime Minister is Keir Starmer is among the leaders who plans to
attend. He has said will pledge 20 million British pounds (27 million dollars)
to help 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 Antnio Guterres, European Union President Antnio
Costa and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have also said they will be
attending.
The venue
Sharm el-Sheikh, the Red Sea resort at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, has
been host to many peace negotiations in the past decades.
Sharm el-Sheikh was briefly occupied by Israel for a year 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
leave, a move that precipitated the Six-Day War that year.
Sharm el-Sheikh and the rest of the Sinai Peninsula were returned to Egypt
in 1982, following a 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
The town -- now known for a luxury beach resort, dive sites and desert tours
-- also hosted many peace summits and rounds of negotiations between Israel and
the Palestinians under President Hosni Mubarak, ousted in 2011. Under El-Sissi,
the city has also been hosted many international conferences Monday's is it's
first peace summit under him.
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