Israel Netanyahu and Abbas travel to summit in Egypt
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also travel to the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. This was announced by the Egyptian presidential office following a telephone conversation between President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Netanyahu.
13.10.2025, 11:36
SDA
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will also attend. Shortly beforehand, al-Sisi had received a call from Trump, who had probably brought Netanyahu's participation into play or urged it. Abbas heads both the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Fatah movement, which rivals Hamas.
The Islamist Hamas drove Fatah out of the Gaza Strip in a bloody fratricidal war in 2007. Since then, Abbas has effectively only ruled the West Bank. Israel has so far rejected PA rule in the Gaza Strip. However, it remains to be seen to what extent the PA could be involved in the future administration of Gaza.
An international summit on the Gaza war is planned in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. More than 20 heads of state and government are expected to attend, including from Europe and the Arab world.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan's King Abdullah II will be among those attending. Heads of state and government from Qatar, Turkey, Canada, Indonesia and Pakistan are also expected to attend.
It remains to be seen what decisions can be made at the meeting on the Gaza war. According to Trump, a "Middle East peace ceremony" is planned. The highest representatives from Qatar, Egypt and the USA are expected to formally seal the agreement between Hamas and Israel in Egypt.
It is considered almost impossible that a Hamas delegation will also travel to Sharm el-Sheikh. Even during the negotiations in the two-year war, the Hamas and Israeli delegations always sat in separate rooms and did not meet in person. It seems unthinkable that the highest representative of the terrorist organization abroad, Chalil al-Haja, would appear at a ceremony together with Netanyahu.
Hamas circles also stated that "only the mediators and American and Israeli government representatives will be present at the ceremony".
