Trump to chair peace summit in Egypt, Erdoğan to attend

By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL – On Monday, October 13 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump will lead a joint international summit. The summit’s goal is to end the war in Gaza and establish a new framework for stability in the Middle East, according to an announcement from the Egyptian presidency on Saturday. The summit entitled Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit will bring leaders together from over 20 countries on Monday afternoon to discuss the conflict in Gaza and broader regional security concerns, the Egyptian president’s office said in a statement. Those confirmed to attend include U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, British Prime Minster Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and French President Emmanuel Macron  It’s still not clear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will participate and no word from Israeli officials, yet – Hamas has chosen not to attend the summit. A member of Hamas’s political bureau, Hossam Badran told AFP news agency: “We will not be involved,” adding that historically, Hamas has “acted principally through…Qatari and Egyptian mediators.” Egypt’s presidency commented that the summit is aligned with President Trump’s commitment to achieving peace in the region and ending global conflicts. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to attend the peace summit. Turkiye played a significant role in mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas to reach the point of both parties signing an agreement for the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan. The Turkish leader told the press, earlier in the week that Trump had requested Turkiye’s assistance in the negotiation process. Erdogan has reiterated that Turkiye always stands by the Palestinian people and that he favors a two-state solution with a separate Palestinian state. The peace summit follows negotiations held in Egypt prior to October 9 when both Hamas and Israel approved the first phase of a ceasefire plan. The agreement took effect at 12:00 p.m. after Israeli government approval and took effect October 10’ after the Israeli military withdrew to positions specified in the deal as