US President Donald Trump will travel to the Middle East on Sunday, where he is expected to try to establish himself as an ambassador for peace in the region by mediating a ceasefire in Gaza.
Trump had publicly expressed his desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize this year. However, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee awarded the prize to Venezuelan right-wing opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.
The White House has expressed concern and accused the Norwegian Nobel Committee of prioritising “politics over peace.”
However, Trump is likely to earn significant praise from host countries on his Middle East tour. His role in ending the conflict in Gaza and freeing Israeli prisoners from the territory is likely to be particularly praised.
Analysts say that if the deal is to bring about lasting peace in Gaza, Trump will need to take an active role. He will need to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure that the bombing of Gaza does not resume after the hostages are released.
The White House announced Friday that President Donald Trump will travel to the Middle East on Sunday night. The first stop on the trip will be Israel, where he will deliver a keynote speech on Monday. He will then travel to Egypt to attend the formal signing of the Gaza agreement. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher reports from Washington.
Israel and Hamas have already praised Trump for playing a key role in the talks.
Analysts say Donald Trump needs to take a more active role in securing a long-term peace in Gaza. He must pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ensure that the hostages are not bombed again.
Mohammed Elmasri, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said Trump wants to keep a close eye on the issue and send Netanyahu a message that will be considered final. Elmasri added that Trump usually praises Netanyahu publicly, but in this case, he is expected to apply the necessary pressure.
While Donald Trump has claimed most of the credit for the deal, experts say other factors also played a role in ending the Israeli war in Gaza, which has been going on for more than two years. UN investigators have described Israel's two-year atrocity in Gaza as ethnic cleansing.
Youssef Munair, head of the Palestine-Israel program at the Arab Centre in Washington, D.C., noted that Israel's military operation has not achieved significant success, as it has failed to free the hostages despite destroying more than 80 per cent of the buildings in Gaza.
Munair said in an interview with Al Jazeera, "By following this path, Israel is increasingly isolated globally, and they are paying the price for it. At the same time, I think domestic political factors have influenced the timing."
Over the past two years, various proposals on Gaza based on Trump's plan have been put on the negotiating table. However, Netanyahu has remained steadfast in his decision to continue his aggressive policy.
Many countries around the world, even some Western allies, have sharply criticised Israel for the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the recent attack on Qatar. It is against this backdrop that the decision to implement the ceasefire in Gaza was made.
Israel has long received military and diplomatic support from the United States, despite opposition from the international community.
The Trump administration has not only failed to condemn the Israeli-imposed food crisis in Gaza, but has also supported the activities of the controversial aid agency GHF, which has been involved in shootings during aid distributions that have killed hundreds of aid seekers.
While Trump may claim credit for implementing the Gaza deal, experts believe there are other factors at play in bringing about a pause in the more than two-year-old Israeli war in Gaza. A UN investigation has characterised Israel’s long-standing atrocities in Gaza as ethnic cleansing.
While Trump celebrates the so-called “peace” achieved in the Middle East through his plan, human rights activists insist that there will be no lasting peace or stability in the region until the occupation ends and proper accountability for the ethnic cleansing is ensured.
Nancy Okail, head of the think tank Centre for International Policy (CIP), has warned that accepting the horrific abuses in Gaza as normal could threaten the very existence of international institutions.
"If there is no accountability for what happened in Gaza, others will have the opportunity to do the same, which will put everyone at risk," Okail told Al Jazeera.
Source: Al Jazeera
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