Sharm El-Sheikh Summit Yields Gaza Peace Agreement Amid Ongoing Controversies
The international Sharm El-Sheikh summit was held on Monday, hosted by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with the participation of leaders from several countries including the United States, Turkey, Qatar, and Pakistan. The main focus of the summit was to halt the war in the Gaza Strip and reach a political solution to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
US President Donald Trump announced in his speech that a comprehensive agreement had been signed between Israel and Hamas, calling it the largest and most complex peace document in the region. He emphasized that Washington does not want a third world war and that efforts to stabilize the ceasefire are ongoing. The issue of the bodies of Israeli captives remains under review.
However, Trump did not mention the multiple violations of previous agreements by Israel and expressed optimism about the parties’ commitment. This disregard for the past behavior of the occupying side has drawn criticism of his realist approach.
Host Abdel Fattah el-Sisi described the agreement as a historic moment for the region and called for the realization of a two-state solution. He stated that the Middle East must be cleared of weapons of mass destruction and that efforts to rebuild Gaza will be the basis for the future. El-Sisi added that peace is not built by governments alone but that peoples are the main focus.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised Trump and said he would nominate him again for the Nobel Peace Prize. This claim has been viewed skeptically by political observers as political propaganda, especially given that the genocide against Gaza’s residents for more than two years has not been condemned.
French President Emmanuel Macron, while supporting the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, criticized the shortcomings of the US plan for Gaza’s future governance. He stated there are ambiguities in the US plan, particularly regarding the deployment of international forces and the process of disarming Hamas. Macron also called for the return of journalists to Gaza’s war zones and emphasized that impunity must not continue.
Despite the signing of the agreement by several global leaders, the Sharm El-Sheikh summit ended without specific condemnation of Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip. The speakers’ silence in the face of these crimes is seen as a sign of the international community’s ongoing neglect of human rights violations in the region and has raised concern among civil activists and human rights organizations.
