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President Donald Trump alluded to feeble world leaders present at the global summit held on Monday in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh on the future of the war-ravaged Gaza Strip with an indirect rebuke of their counter-productive role to bring closure to Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist movement.
When asked about world leaders that he viewed as feeble in the meeting location in Egypt, Trump said “I won’t comment on that. But you know probably who they are… There were a couple in the room.”
While Western leaders and the United Nations Secretary-General sought to share in the limelight of Trump’s Middle East success that brought an end to the Hamas-Israel war, veteran Mideast observers note that Trump primarily expressed gratitude to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as to Qatar and Egypt, while omitting traditional Western allies.
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On Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee issued a stinging rebuke to Britain’s Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, who declared, “We’ve played a key role behind the scenes in shaping this” with respect to Trump’s peace achievement. Huckabee fired back: “I assure you she’s delusional. She can thank @realDonaldTrump anytime just to set the record straight.”
France’s President Emmanuel Macron has been criticized by Trump for his initiative to recognize a Palestinian state. Trump previously said about Macron’s role in recognizing a Palestinian state: “What he says doesn’t matter.”
Observers also pointed to an awkward 26-second long handshake at the summit between the two in Egypt on Tuesday.
Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio lambasted Australia, Canada, Britain and France for recognizing a Palestinian state because it makes it “harder” to end the war. Rubio added the acceptance of a Palestinian state “emboldens” Hamas. Rubio said he conveyed the U.S. position to its Western allies.
Ret. British Col. Richard Kemp, who spent time in Gaza during the over-two-year war, wrote on X:”Tonight Trump name-checked countries that played a significant role in peace agreement. UK not included. Nor was France, Canada or Australia, the ‘recognisers.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former National Security Council official, told Fox News Digital that, “We know for a fact that Hamas would pull back over and over again whenever there was a prospect of a U.N. Security Council action to pressure Israel, when Britain or Canada would announce an arms embargo on Israel, when French President Emmanuel Macron would organize a push for Palestinian state recognition.
This is happening right now in spite of all them because of one man who said to their faces in front of the world, I don’t give a damn what you say or do, I will help Israel open the gates of hell unless the hostages come home now.”
He added, “It’s also a lesson for what comes next: Trump holds the cards for success or failure in demilitarizing Gaza and deradicalizing the Palestinians. If Trump lets the Europeans or the U.N. run the show, his plan is doomed; if he keeps his sword of Damocles hanging over the process, he may yet succeed.”
Special envoy, Steve Witkoff, later thanked the U.K.’s national security advisor in a statement on X: “I would like to acknowledge the vital role of the United Kingdom in assisting and coordinating efforts that have led us to this historic day in Israel. In particular, I want to recognize the incredible input and tireless efforts of National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch warned, “Israel is finally seeing the hostages come home, and perhaps the guns fall silent. But let the world remember: this could have ended long ago if many around the world — from U.N. officials to so-called human rights groups like Amnesty International — had not spent two years justifying Hamas instead of confronting it.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who also flew to Egypt for the signing, has faced intense criticism in the German media for allegedly seeking to bask in the victory of Trump’s triumph after he imposed a weapons embargo on Israel’s army. Israeli tanks are dependent on German technological parts and Merz prohibited deliveries.
Writing on the website of the conservative news outlet NIUS, its editor-in-chief, Julian Reichelt, said Merz “supplied Hamas with air support while simultaneously denying Israel the weapons it needed to fight Hamas. He withdrew support to the Jews but increased financial support for the proven Hamas front organization UNRWA, which was directly involved in the Oct. 7 attack.” The airpower reference was Merz’s decision to send humanitarian aid to Gaza via airlift deliveries. Hamas has repeatedly stole aid that was meant for the Palestinian population.