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January 23, 2025 | 12:04 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy said on Wednesday he would travel to the region to be part of what he described as an inspection team deployed in and along the Gaza Strip to ensure ceasefire compliance.
In an interview with Fox News, the envoy, Steve Witkoff, also said he believed all countries in the region could get "on board" to normalize ties with Israel. Asked to identify specific countries, he singled out Qatar, saying the Gulf country was a critical player in reaching the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States brokered the multi-phase deal between Israel and Hamas militants, and the two Arab countries have set up a communications hub in Cairo to head off new clashes between the foes.
Witkoff told Fox that implementation of the deal, which took effect on Sunday, would be more difficult than its execution.
"I'm actually going to be going over to Israel. I'm going to be part of an inspection team at the Netzarim corridor, and also at the Philadelphi corridor," Witkoff said.
Netzarim is an east-west strip Israel cleared during the war that prevents Palestinians' free movement between north and south Gaza. Philadelphia is a narrow border strip between Gaza and Egypt.
"That's where you have outside overseers, sort of making sure that people are safe and people who are entering are not armed and no one has bad motivations," Witkoff added.
His comments appeared to be the first public confirmation of U.S. involvement on the ground in Gaza to help keep the deal on track. Witkoff did not say who else might be part of the inspection teams.
Witkoff was also asked which countries in the region might join the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements struck during the president's first term that saw Israel establish ties with Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates.
"I think you could get everybody on board in that region. I really do. I think there's a new sense of leadership over there," Witkoff said.
Asked to name a specific country, Witkoff said: "I mean, Qatar ... Qatar was enormously helpful in this. Qatar's (Prime Minister) Sheikh Mohammed, (his) communication skills with Hamas were indispensable here."
REUTERS
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