Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF

Special Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF
US President Donald Trump speaking by video from the White House to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday. (WEF photo)
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Updated 24 January 2025
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Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF

Gaza ceasefire ‘wouldn’t have happened without us,’ Trump tells WEF
  • The US president touted his administration’s role in brokering the Israel-Hamas hostage deal
  • He also welcomed Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, while calling for lower oil prices

DAVOS: In a virtual address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, US President Donald Trump highlighted his administration’s pivotal role in brokering the ceasefire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages.

“Before even taking office, my team negotiated a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East, which wouldn’t have happened without us,” Trump said in his first major speech on the world stage since returning to the White House.

“Earlier this week, the hostages began to return to their families. They are returning, and it’s a beautiful sight, and they’ll be coming in more and more.”

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt, came into effect on Jan. 19, ending 15-months of fighting which has left more than 47,500 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The deal was structured in multiple phases, the first involving a six-week ceasefire, during which Hamas agreed to release 33 hostages abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

In exchange, Israel committed to releasing 90 Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank and allowing hundreds of aid trucks carrying food and fuel into the Gaza Strip through border crossings in Israel and Egypt.

The negotiation process was marked by significant diplomatic efforts, with both the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration playing instrumental roles.

Brett McGurk, a Middle East negotiator for the Biden administration, collaborated closely with Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. This bipartisan cooperation was driven by a mutual desire to resolve the conflict prior to the presidential inauguration.

Trump had issued stern warnings, stating that failure to release the hostages, including seven American citizens, before his inauguration would result in severe consequences.

The US president, who began his second term on Monday, also used his WEF speech to welcome Saudi Arabia’s $600 billion investment, and said that he hoped there would be room for it to grow to $1 trillion and lower oil prices.

“I’ll be asking the Crown Prince (Mohammed bin Salman), who’s a fantastic guy, to round it up to around $1 trillion. I think they’ll do that,” Trump said.

He did, however, add: “I’m also going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down the cost of oil.” Four days into his presidency, Trump said he wants to lower global oil prices, interest rates and taxes, and warned they will face tariffs if they make their products abroad.

“I’ll demand that interest rates drop immediately. And likewise, they should be dropping all over the world,” he said.

Some of his harshest criticism was reserved for traditional US allies Canada and the EU who he threatened again with new tariffs, while berating their import policies blaming them for the US’s trade goods deficit with these partners.

“One thing we’re going to be demanding is we’re going to be demanding respect from other nations. Canada. We have a tremendous deficit with Canada. We’re not going to have that anywhere,” he said.

Trump promised to reduce inflation with a mix of tariffs, deregulation and tax cuts along with his crackdown on illegal immigration and commitment to making the US a hub of artificial intelligence, cryptocurrencies and fossil fuels.

He also criticized levels of taxation in the EU.

“The US has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we’re going to use it,” Trump said. “Not only will this reduce the cost of virtually all goods and services, it will make the US a manufacturing superpower.”

Declaring the US had entered the “golden age of America,” Trump highlighted the sweeping reforms of his administration, which he said were correcting the “disasters” left by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Trump criticized Biden’s economic policies, saying: “His $8 trillion in wasteful deficit spending, energy restrictions, regulations, and hidden taxes resulted in the worst inflation crisis in modern history.”
 

 


Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan

Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan
Updated 9 sec ago
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Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan

Indonesia ‘strongly rejects’ Trump’s Gaza plan
“Indonesia strongly rejects any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians or alter the demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the Foreign Ministry said
Jakarta also called on the international community to respect international law

JAKARTA: Indonesia “strongly rejects” the proposal made by President Donald Trump for the United States to assume control of Gaza and resettle Palestinians elsewhere, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
Trump announced the stunning proposal Tuesday, without detailing his plans on how to move out nearly two million Palestinians from the enclave, claiming that the US will rebuild the territory and turn it into the “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has consistently called for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Indonesia strongly rejects any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians or alter the demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on social media X, formerly Twitter.
Jakarta also called on the international community to respect international law, “particularly the right to self-determination of the Palestinians as well as their inalienable right to return to their homeland,” the ministry added.
Trump claimed there was support from the “highest leadership” in the Middle East and upped pressure on Egypt and Jordan to take displaced Palestinians — despite both countries flatly rejecting the idea.
Jakarta said addressing the “root cause” of the conflict, namely “the illegal and prolonged Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory,” was the only path to achieve a lasting peace in the region, the statement added.

Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister

Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister
Updated 8 min 12 sec ago
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Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister

Kuwaiti emir appoints new defense minister
  • Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah took the oath as minister of defense

LONDON: Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah appointed a new defense minister to succeed Sheikh Fahad Youssef Saud Al-Sabah.

During the swearing-in ceremony at Bayan Palace on Tuesday, Sheikh Abdullah Ali Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah took the oath as minister of defense.

Sheikh Fahad has assumed the position of first deputy prime minister and minister of interior following an emiri decree, according to the Kuwait News Agency.

Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and other senior Kuwaiti officials attended the ceremony.


Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza

Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza
Updated 44 min 9 sec ago
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Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza

Deportation from occupied territory ‘strictly prohibited’: UN on Gaza
  • “The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all states,” Turk said

GENEVA: UN rights chief Volker Turk insisted Wednesday that deporting people from occupied territory was strictly prohibited, after US President Donald Trump’s shock proposal for the United States to take over Gaza and resettle its people.
“The right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of international law and must be protected by all states, as the International Court of Justice recently underlined afresh. Any forcible transfer in or deportation of people from occupied territory is strictly prohibited,” Turk said in a statement.


Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief

Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief
Updated 05 February 2025
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Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief

Iraq restoration work brought back Mosul’s ‘identity’: UNESCO chief
  • The director-general of United Nations heritage body UNESCO hailed the completion of their restoration work in the Iraqi city of Mosul, saying on Wednesday it had allowed it to recover its “identity”

MOSUL: The director-general of United Nations heritage body UNESCO hailed the completion of their restoration work in the Iraqi city of Mosul, saying on Wednesday it had allowed it to recover its “identity” after destruction inflicted by the Daesh group.
Mosul’s historic Al-Nuri Mosque with its famed leaning minaret, nicknamed Al-Hadba or “hunchback,” has been restored using its original brickwork, years after it was reduced to rubble under Daesh group rule.
“I am very happy to stand before you and before the minaret over 850 years old... and the fact to have it here behind me in front of you is like history coming back... is like the identity of the city coming back,” Audrey Azoulay said.
The mosque and minaret were destroyed in June 2017 during the battle to oust IS from Mosul, and Iraq’s authorities accused the jihadists of planting explosives before their withdrawal.
They are the latest landmarks in Mosul to be restored by UNESCO, whose teams have worked for five years to revive several sites.
“The reconstruction of this minaret needed to reuse nearly 45,000 original bricks,” the UNESCO chief said, adding that traditional techniques were used to rebuild the iconic structure.
Azouley said residents had wanted the rebuilt minaret to resemble the original. “The people of Mosul wanted it tilted,” she said.
Eighty percent of Mosul’s old city was destroyed in the fight against IS.
UNESCO restoration project also include Al-Tahira and Our Lady of the Hour churches and 124 heritage houses.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani will inaugurate the restored landmarks in the coming weeks.


Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM

Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM
Updated 05 February 2025
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Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM

Egypt wants Palestinian Authority to ‘assume its duties’ in Gaza: FM

CAIRO: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called on Wednesday for the Palestinian Authority to govern the Gaza Strip, hours after President Donald Trump announced a proposal for the United States to take over the territory.
In a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Abdelatty said Egypt was eager for the Palestinian Authority to “assume its duties in the Gaza Strip as part of the occupied Palestinian territories,” according to a foreign ministry statement.

Abdelatty called for swift reconstruction of Gaza without the displacement of Palestinians from the territory after Trump’s proposal to take it over. 

The two men agreed on “the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects... at an accelerated pace... without the Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip, especially with their commitment to their land and refusal to leave it,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said.