WASHINGTON( WNAM MONITORING ): US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he may travel to the Middle East this weekend as negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza are showing signs of progress.
Speaking to reporters at a White House event, he said: “Peace for the Middle East, that beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close, and they’re doing very well.”
“I may go there sometime toward the end of the week, maybe on Sunday,” he added, noting there is “a very good chance” of progress in the talks.
“We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also. But it’s something I think that will happen. Got a good chance of happening,” he said.
“Negotiations are going along very well,” he stressed, praising the negotiating team in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, where US, Turkish, Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials are working to finalize a deal between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas under Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza.
“Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas. And it seems to be going well,” Trump said. “We’ll let you know. If that’s the case, we’ll be leaving probably on Sunday. Maybe Saturday. Maybe a little later than Saturday evening. But that seems to be our schedule.”
Trump was later approached by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the press conference, after which he said: “I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’re going to need me pretty quickly.”
Asked whether his trip to the Middle East meant going to Egypt and Israel, and whether he was considering visiting Gaza to see what things are like on the ground, he responded: “I would, yeah. I would. I might do that. I may do that. We haven’t decided exactly. I’ll be going to Egypt, most likely.”
“I’ll probably go maybe before the hostages are released, or shortly thereafter, pretty much shortly thereafter,” he added.
The White House later confirmed that Trump is considering a regional visit.
“On Friday morning, President Trump will visit Walter Reed Medical Center for a planned meeting…President Trump is considering going to the Middle East shortly thereafter,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
When asked if he believed he would win the Nobel Peace Prize, Trump replied: “I mean, look, I did settle—Marco would tell you—we settled seven wars. We’re close to settling an eighth, and I think we’ll end up settling the Russia situation…So I don’t think anybody in history has settled that many, but perhaps they’ll find a reason not to give it to me.”
On Sept. 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point proposal that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a ceasefire, the disarmament of Hamas, and the rebuilding of Gaza. Hamas agreed to the plan in principle.
The Israeli army has killed over 67,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave all but uninhabitable and led to starvation and the proliferation of disease.
