Leaders of France, Jordan, Egypt press Trump on Gaza ceasefire, as Netanyahu visits US
Trio at Cairo summit also urge resumption of humanitarian aid in call with US president; joint statement backs PA control of Strip after war, rebuffs plan to displace Gazans
The leaders of Egypt, France, and Jordan urged US President Donald Trump in a joint phone call Monday to secure an end to the war in Gaza , as the White House hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for lightning talks.
The call, which came hours before Trump said in an Oval Office meeting with Netanyahu that the war in Gaza would end soon, was organized by French President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Cairo for a tripartite meeting with Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah.
In the call, the leaders discussed “ways to urgently secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” and stressed the need to resume full delivery of humanitarian aid and “the release of all the hostages and detainees,” according to a French readout.
The trio “emphasize[d] the need to create conducive conditions for a genuine political horizon and mobilize international efforts to end the suffering of the Palestinian people, restore security and peace for all, and implement the two-state solution,” it said.
The Elysee Palace said the call was set up at Macron’s initiative “to discuss the situation in Gaza.”
Macron and Abdullah were in Cairo for a summit on efforts to resume a ceasefire in Gaza, which was abandoned last month, and to plan for the post-war governance in the Strip.
The meeting came as Netanyahu visited Washington for talks with Trump centered on tariffs, Iran, and the war in Gaza, which was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
In the White House, Trump said he wanted to see the war end soon, but noted the need for the release of 59 remaining hostages of the 251 kidnapped from Israel on October 7.
“I think the war will stop at some point that won’t be in too distant future,” he said alongside Netanyahu. “Right now, we have a problem with hostages, we try to get the hostages, we got quite a few of them out, but its a long process, it shouldn’t be that long.”
He also reiterated his desire for the US to assume control of the territory, which he called “an incredible piece of important real estate,” while expressing support for relocating its 2 million Palestinian residents.
“Having a peace force like the United States there controlling and owning the Gaza Strip would be a good thing,” he said.
Earlier, a joint statement from Macron, Sissi, and Abdullah said the Palestinian Authority should take control of the enclave, an idea Israel has rejected.
“Governance, law and order, and security in Gaza, as well as in all Palestinian territories, must be the sole responsibility of a strengthened Palestinian Authority,” the three heads of state said in a joint statement.
Macron said he was strongly opposed to any displacement of Palestinians, throwing his weight behind a Gaza reconstruction plan endorsed by the Arab League to counter a US proposal to send the war-ravaged territory’s inhabitants elsewhere.
Speaking alongside Sissi in the Egyptian capital, Macron hailed his government’s “crucial work on this plan, which offers a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and should also pave the way for new Palestinian governance” in the territory.
The Palestinian Authority is dominated by Hamas’s rival party Fatah and based in the West Bank, where it has partial administrative control.
“Hamas must have no role in this governance (of Gaza), and must no longer constitute a threat to Israel,” Macron said.
At their Cairo meeting, the three leaders called for an “immediate return” to the ceasefire.
Egypt along with Qatar and the United States brokered the January truce. The deal collapsed when Israel sought to extend its first phase, but Hamas insisted on talks for a second phase that would see Israeli troops fully withdraw from the Strip before releasing more hostages.
Macron’s visit is a show of support for Egypt and Jordan, the proposed destinations in Trump’s widely criticized idea to move Gazans out of the territory.
Macron, Sissi, and King Abdullah presented a united front against “displacement of the population” from Gaza.
At the White House, Netanyahu emphasized that Palestinians should be given a choice of whether to leave, rather than be forcibly moved.
Sissi said in Cairo that without a “just solution” for Palestinians, there will not be “lasting peace and permanent stability in the Middle East.”
Abdullah stressed the need for “a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution,” with a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.