Trump on mission to the Middle East: peace and the dream of the Gaza Strip
The US President will address the Knesset in Israel and lead an international summit in Egypt on the new balance in the region
New York - From our correspondent
There are two objectives, as clear as they are ambitious. The first is pragmatic: consolidate the agreement for Gaza just accepted by Hamas and Israel, involving the Arab countries that acted as mediators and the Western allies. The second is forward-looking: plan the reconstruction of the Strip and create the basis for new, more solid balances for the Middle East, dialoguing with everyone, including Iran.
Donald Trump will leave for the Middle East, on the evening of Sunday 19 October, on a mission as an absolute protagonist of the world stage: the Nobel Peace Prize has faded, at least for this year, but the show is assured, as always when the tycoon moves in front of a camera or invades social media with his posts. In the background remain the images of the Gaza Riviera rebuilt, in Trump's dreams, as if it were Miami.
But in Israel and Egypt, along with the show, the American president will bring to the table all the strength of the United States and the prestige gained in putting an end to the war in the Strip. From the White House, he said he was confident that the ceasefire would hold, that the Israeli hostages would be freed, and in general that the twenty points of the plan that everyone now calls the Trump Plan would be implemented. "We believe it, we're close to something historic, everybody's tired of the fighting, a lot of people are working to make it a success," he said, acknowledging however that "there are still steps to be taken, difficult ones, and there are details that need to be worked out.
At the warm invitation of Prime Minister Banjamin Netanyahu, Trump will address the Knesset on Monday 20 October: this has not happened to an American president since 2008 when it was George W. Bush's turn to address the Israeli Parliament. If the timetable is respected and Hamas keeps its word, he may even make it in time to embrace the freed Israeli hostages and their families. The American leader will then move on to Egypt. In Cairo, he will attend the formal ceremony for the signing of the agreement, with the other mediators from Qatar and Turkey.
