The two leaders had a warm relation during Trump’s first term between 2017 and 2021, and worked closely to maintain and develop bilateral strategic ties and defuse widespread tensions in the region.

There could be no more critical time than now for Egypt and the United States to work closely together, as they have traditionally for decades, to prevent the entire Middle East from falling into an abyss of endless wars, the horrific loss of human life and mass destruction.

Israel’s 13-month genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, which has expanded to Lebanon since mid-September, has had a heavy toll on every country in the region, proving that it can only deteriorate despite the sincere efforts of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to mediate an end to the fighting and prevent its expansion.

No one has any illusions about the US commitment to Israel’s security and defence. President-elect Trump had already taken stands during his first term that were strongly opposed by Arab countries and peoples, topped with his decision to recognise occupied East Jerusalem as “Israel’s united capital” in violation of UN Security Council resolutions and international law. He also recognised Israel’s illegal decision to annex the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Trump showed no regrets about those decisions during his election campaign, and even sought to win more Jewish American votes by claiming that he was Israel’s strongest supporter. He sharply criticised the Biden administration for suspending a single shipment of heavy bombs that certainly should not be used in densely populated areas such as Gaza.

However, Trump conceded in recent statements that Israel must soon bring an end to its wars in Gaza and Lebanon. In Trump’s view, Israel has lost what he dubbed the “public relations war” as the world can no longer tolerate the daily bloodshed and insane destruction.

Much more is needed from President-elect Trump in order to protect both regional and US interests beyond recognising Israel’s loss of the “public relations war”. The experience of the last 13 months has confirmed the need to abide by the core equation of the Middle East peace process: land for peace and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in order to achieve permanent stability in the region. Efforts to dilute this goal by seeking to push for normalisation agreements only, thinking that this would sidestep the core problem, which is the illegal occupation of Palestinian and Syrian territories, have proved futile.

The daily, barbaric massacres that Israeli occupation troops have been committing over the past 13 months in Gaza, which resulted in the death of more than 43,000 people, two thirds of whom are women and children – and the more recent horrific ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza amid an obvious plan to empty that part of the narrow Strip from its residents through starvation and arbitrary bombing – will certainly not be forgotten by Palestinians, Arabs and others who support justice worldwide. Normalisation agreements are not the way out.

That is why President-elect Trump, after returning to the White House in late January, should reconsider his approach to achieving peace in the Middle East after many months of conflict repeatedly reaching the threshold of an all-out regional war, and a possible direct confrontation between the United States and Iran.

Biden has repeatedly tried to end the wars in both Gaza and Lebanon. Yet this was never going to happen as long as Washington, along with key European allies, continued to generously provide Israel with the weapons it has been using to mercilessly kill Palestinian and Lebanese civilians on a daily basis. This has turned Israel into a rogue state that shows no respect for international war or human rights laws. That is why Egypt decided last week to join more than 50 nations asking the UN General Assembly to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

The record of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant, in committing war crimes and crimes against humanity was terrible enough to justify a decision by the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for both officials.

US and Western pressure on the ICC has clearly delayed a decision on this request, but there is little doubt that the majority of the world recognises that holding top Israeli officials responsible for war crimes committed in Gaza, and imposing an arms embargo on the Israeli occupation army are the only tools left to restore confidence in a world order based on law and justice.

Egypt spared no effort over the past 13 months, in coordination with the United States and Qatar, to end the war in Gaza and allow urgently needed humanitarian assistance to enter the Strip. This effort will certainly continue when President-elect Trump takes office, and it is hoped that his close ties with leaders of the region, and his pragmatic approach to resolving issues, will soon bring the war in Gaza and Lebanon to end. This would be the beginning of a long road to restore confidence that peace and co-existence remain possible in the region.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 14 November, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly