Trump says he ‘may go’ to Middle East this weekend as part of peace talks

Washington — President Trump said he “may go” to the Middle East this weekend as his top negotiators seek to broker a peace deal between Hamas and Israel.

Mr. Trump said Wednesday that if negotiations go well, he and his team “will probably leave Sunday, maybe Saturday.” Special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are in Egypt for indirect peace talks and participated in meetings on Wednesday, a White House official said.

The current negotiations are structured around a 20-point peace proposal which Mr. Trump unveiled at the White House during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late last month.

“I might go towards the end of the week, maybe Sunday actually, and we’ll see,” the president said during a White House roundtable on the subject. antifa. “But there is a very good chance. The negotiations are progressing very well. We are dealing with Hamas and many other countries.”

“Our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas,” he added. “And it looks like it’s going well. So we’ll let you know. If that’s the case, we’ll probably leave Sunday, maybe Saturday, maybe a little later than Saturday night, but that seems to be our schedule.”

Egypt and Qatar serve as intermediaries between Israel and Hamas in the conflict. indirect talkswhich take place in the Egyptian seaside town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The president urged negotiators to “act quickly.” On Friday, Hamas said it had accepted elements of the US-led peace proposal. The first phase of the plan would involve Hamas releasing the remaining hostages, living and deceased, within 72 hours. Tuesday marked two years since Hamas launched its terrorist attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 251 civilians, including children, were kidnapped.

Without sweeping changes, a presidential trip abroad to address foreign policy this weekend would take place in the middle of federal negotiations. government shutdown. The House is out of session and the Senate has been unable to pass legislation to reopen the government.

Lucia I Suarez Sang and Olivia Rinaldi contributed to this report.