Theatrics trumped all at Trump’s Gaza summit

SHARM EL-SHEIKH – US President Donald Trump’s

lightning summit in Egypt

, meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza, was more a celebration of one man’s newfound role as a peacemaker than a high-level political negotiation, according to diplomats.

Mr Trump and the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey – guarantors of the Israel-Hamas deal – signed a document on Oct 13 that one diplomat called “more of a vision statement than anything”.

In devastated Gaza, the ceasefire is mostly holding, but most of the details of

the US leader’s 20-point peace plan

have yet to be thrashed out. These include significant possible stumbling blocks, such as Hamas’ disarmament, the Palestinian territory’s future governance, and the role of a supervisory so-called “Board of Peace”.

While Mr Trump held what amounted to a victory rally in the Israeli Knesset on Oct 13, more than two dozen world leaders – including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and UN chief Antonio Guterres – were kept waiting all day in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

In a meeting held ahead of his arrival, they intended to press him on aid and governance, according to a participant.

But when he arrived, four hours behind schedule, they lined up in a queue that snaked all the way around the room to greet the man who claims he can “bring peace to the Middle East”.

One after the other, they stepped onto a red carpet to shake hands with a beaming Mr Trump, over a giant sign that read “Peace 2025”.

“It was a very bizarre day... Just the show, the speech with all these leaders lined up, it was crazy,” one diplomat told AFP, requesting anonymity to speak freely about diplomatic events. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and I don’t think many people have.”

As Mr Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivered addresses, most of the leaders stood dutifully behind them in an unorthodox configuration that even the US leader questioned.

Some refused to take part, with France’s Mr Macron, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas remaining seated.

“He’s not going to stand behind a leader as he speaks,” said a French diplomat travelling with Mr Macron, who also accompanied

Mr Abbas on stage for a reportedly unplanned handshake

, which ended up being one of Mr Trump’s longest.

The chosen one

Egypt – whose leaders have taken every opportunity to praise Mr Trump as the “only one in the world capable of achieving peace” – pulled out all the stops.

Sharm el-Sheikh was covered in billboards featuring his and Mr Sisi’s smiling faces alongside slogans of peace.

As Air Force One entered Egyptian airspace, it was accompanied by Egypt’s US-made F16 fighter jets, which Mr Trump then quipped Cairo had “paid a lot of money for” but “got a good deal”.

Mr Sisi announced that Mr Trump had been awarded the Order of the Nile, Egypt’s highest civilian honour, hours after he received the equivalent medal in Israel.

One Egyptian source said the Oct 13 document was meant to “simply commemorate peace efforts”, for which Cairo credits Mr Trump.

But the former reality TV star’s penchant for theatrics nearly derailed even that.

In a surprise three-way call while he was in Israel, Mr Trump pushed Mr Sisi into inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the summit – sandbagging the leaders waiting in Egypt, some of whose governments have no relations with Israel.

According to a diplomatic source, Mr Sisi only agreed to the call in order to “be the star pupil”.

Diplomats said several states bristled at the idea of rubbing shoulders with the Israeli leader, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on suspicion of war crimes.

AFP journalists witnessed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plane circle Sharm el-Sheikh twice before it landed. Turkish media reported that he refused to land after he learnt of the invitation.

By the time Mr Netanyahu had rushed out a statement saying

he would not attend

because of a Jewish religious holiday and Mr Trump had landed, several leaders had run out of time.

Faced with the risk of having to rush to their planes without a single soundbite, the leaders of Germany, Italy and the Netherlands were forced to walk out of their closed-off meeting area to meet the sequestered press.

“It was a ridiculous day,” another diplomat said in the aftermath, echoing the incredulity shared by all diplomats AFP spoke to.

“But ultimately, we’re better off today than where we were yesterday. The question is if he’s going to keep this up going forward and keep that firm line with Netanyahu.” AFP