Trump, El-Sisi to chair Gaza peace summit on Monday: Egypt

Trump, El-Sisi to chair Gaza peace summit on Monday: Egypt
A municipal employee raises the Egyptian flag among those of other nations in Sharm el-Sheikh, as the Red Sea resort town gets ready to receive international leaders, following a Gaza ceasefire agreement, on October 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 12 October 2025
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Trump, El-Sisi to chair Gaza peace summit on Monday: Egypt

Trump, El-Sisi to chair Gaza peace summit on Monday: Egypt
  • The meeting aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip and enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East
  • Confirmed to attend are the UN secretary general and Arab and European leaders, among others

CAIRO: US President Donald Trump and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will chair the Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency said on Saturday.
The meeting will take place on Monday afternoon “with the participation of leaders from more than twenty countries,” it said.
It will aim “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he will attend, as will Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sanchez of Spain. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also confirmed his attendance.
There was no immediate word about whether Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be in Sharm el-Sheikh, while Hamas has said it will not take part.
Hossam Badran, a Hamas political bureau member, told AFP in an interview that the Palestinian militant group “will not be involved.”
Hamas “acted principally through... Qatari and Egyptian mediators” during previous talks on Gaza, he said.
The first phase of the plan is set to begin with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners by Monday, marking what Britain called a “historic turning point” after two years of war.
Starmer would pay tribute to the role of Trump and the diplomatic efforts of Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye in brokering the deal, his office said.
He is expected to call for continued international coordination to implement the next phase, which includes deploying a ceasefire monitoring mission and establishing transitional governance in Gaza.
Starmer will reiterate Britain’s “steadfast support” to help secure the ceasefire and deliver humanitarian aid. 


Netherlands looks at trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements

Netherlands looks at trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements
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Netherlands looks at trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements

Netherlands looks at trade ban on goods from Israeli settlements
  • Foreign minister makes remarks during visit to West Bank
  • Dutch join EU members Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Belgium in assessing sanctions on trade with settlements 

LONDON: The foreign minister of the Netherlands has said his country is working to ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine. 

David van Weel made the comments during a visit to the West Bank, where he visited an area previously attacked by Israeli settlers.

The Netherlands paused efforts to enact broader sanctions against Israel following the ceasefire with Hamas last month. However, violence by settlers in the West Bank has prompted international condemnation.

“Now we deem it is not a time to increase sanctions on Israel because we want to see the peace plan implemented and we want to also encourage Israel to play a positive part in this,” van Weel told The Guardian.

“At the same time, we’re not blind to any movements on the West Bank that might move the two-state solution further (away).”

Sanctions are tough for EU members to impose individually on trade as the issue falls within the broader remit of the bloc.

“It’s not easy to make a carve-out,” van Weel said. “We cannot just stop (all imports from illegal settlements) immediately because there is currently no legal basis for that. We are trying to make new policy now, then it has to go through parliament.”

The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, making up a third of all Israeli exports. Goods from the settlements make up a relatively small proportion of those exports. 

The Netherlands joins Spain, Slovenia, Belgium and Ireland in planning to sanction trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Belgium and Spain have also cut consular services to those living in settlements.

In June, nine member states asked the EU Commission to assess cutting trade with Israeli settlements after the International Court of Justice ruling on the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. They included Finland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

The Netherlands is historically a staunch Israeli ally, but pushed the EU in May to review the association agreement with the country, which is the foundation of tariff-free trade and other links including in finance and scientific research.

This led to calls from within the EU in September to suspend the free trade agreement with Israel after it was found to have violated numerous human rights obligations.

There were also calls to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Sven Kuhn von Burgsdorff, a former EU envoy to Palestine, told The Guardian: “Business as usual is over … Time for impunity is over.”

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by settlers and the Israeli military this year in the West Bank, including 40 children.

Eight attacks occurred daily on average in October, including against people, property and livestock. It marks a high point in the past 20 years of EU records.

The attacks come amid plans by far-right Israeli politicians in parliament to effectively annex the West Bank by making it subject to Israeli law. The bill passed the preliminary reading stage in October but is opposed by the US.