Washington — President Trump said he “may go” to the Middle East, specifically Egypt, this weekend as his top negotiators work to broker a peace agreement between Hamas and Israel. The president also mentioned that he “may” go to Gaza as part of the trip.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr. Trump stated that if negotiations progress well, he and his team would “be leaving probably on Sunday, maybe Saturday.” Special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are currently in Egypt for indirect peace talks and participated in meetings on Wednesday, a White House official confirmed.
The ongoing negotiations focus on a 20-point peace proposal that Mr. Trump unveiled at the White House during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late last month.
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday, actually, and we’ll see,” the president said during a White House roundtable discussion on antifa. “But there’s a very good chance. Negotiations are going along very well. We’re dealing with Hamas and many of the countries. Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas,” he added. “And it seems to be going well. So we’ll let you know. If that’s the case, we’ll be leaving probably on Sunday, maybe Saturday, maybe a little later than Saturday evening, but that seems to be our schedule.”
The president indicated he would “be going to Egypt, most likely.” Egypt and Qatar are serving as intermediaries between Israel and Hamas in the indirect talks, which are being held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
When asked about a possible visit to Gaza, the president said, “I would, yeah. I would. I might do that. I may do that. We haven’t decided exactly. I’ll be going to Egypt, most likely.”
Mr. Trump has urged negotiators to “move fast.” On Friday, Hamas announced that it had accepted some elements from the U.S.-led peace proposal. The first phase of the plan requires Hamas to release the remaining hostages, both living and deceased, within 72 hours.
Tuesday marked two years since Hamas launched its terrorist attack on Israel, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and about 251 civilians, including children, were kidnapped.
Without drastic changes, a presidential trip abroad focused on foreign policy this weekend would occur amid the ongoing federal government shutdown. The House is out of session, and the Senate has yet to pass legislation to reopen the government.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-says-he-may-go-to-the-middle-east-this-weekend/