In a remarkable moment of transparent diplomacy, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were simultaneously working on a Gaza peace agreement while conducting a domestic security roundtable event at the White House.
The cameras were rolling when President Trump stated the negotiation team was close to an agreement. WATCH:
Evan Vucci of the Associated Press captured an image of Rubio’s note, which read: “Very close. We need you to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” Shortly after the roundtable event, President Trump shared the results of the discussions taking place in Egypt.
“I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”
~DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WASHINGTON DC – […] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called it “a great day for Israel” and thanked the Israel Defense Forces and the U.S. president.
“Tomorrow I will convene the government to approve the agreement and bring all our beloved hostages home,” he said in a statement. “I extend my gratitude to the brave IDF soldiers and all the security forces, whose courage and sacrifice have brought us to this day.”
He signaled support for a longer-term agreement, saying “With God’s help, together we will continue to achieve all our goals and enhance peace with our neighbors.” (more)
For the past several days U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have been in Egypt conducting negotiations with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani and Ron Dermer, the head of Israel’s negotiation team and a close confidant of Netanyahu. The Hamas delegation was led by Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official.
The agreement represents a significant diplomatic accomplishment by the Trump administration, and -if it holds- this will mean the end to two years of bloodshed and a spiraling humanitarian catastrophe.
As noted by Politico, “A Qatari official also heralded the agreement in a post on X, writing that the two sides agreed late Wednesday “on all terms and mechanisms for implementing the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to stopping the war, releasing Israeli detainees and Palestinian prisoners, and allowing aid to enter. The details will be announced later.”
In recent weeks, Trump worked closely with Qatar in particular to unify other Arab allies behind his peace plan and to help convince Hamas officials to accept the deal.
Throughout the non-political life of Donald Trump, he has always expressed an interest in solving the continual conflicts in the middle east. Now, 40 years later as President of the USA, this remarkable objective could potentially be within grasp.
President Donald Trump and Secretary Marco Rubio will likely head to the region this weekend to participate in a remarkable peace agreement signing ceremony.