JERUSALEM/CAIRO – Talks to advance President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war have been on hold since last week when the U.S. and Israel jointly attacked Iran, sparking a broader Middle East war, three sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations said, according to Reuters.
The pause threatens to stall implementation of Trump’s flagship Middle East peace initiative, which he has cast as a major foreign policy objective. It comes less than a month after he secured billions of dollars in pledges for Gaza from Gulf Arab states – countries that are now facing Iranian attacks as the conflict widens.
Trump’s Gaza plan has hinged in part on whether Hamas militants would lay down their arms in exchange for amnesty, a step intended to pave the way for reconstruction and further Israeli military withdrawals. White House mediators have been backchanneling between Israel and Hamas on the disarmament question.
Negotiations on this and other issues were paused when the Iran war began on February 28, the three sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks. The pause in disarmament talks has not been previously reported.
Zaha Hassan, of the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said countries including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar which pledged funds for Trump’s Board of Peace mission may be questioning if this is “really money well spent now that they are dodging rocket fire.”
One of the sources, who has direct knowledge of work by Trump’s Board of Peace mission, described the pause as a brief, minor delay caused by flight disruptions preventing mediators and representatives from travelling around the region. Talks have frequently been held in Cairo.
