Steve Witkoff: Lebanon and Syria Could Join the Abraham Accords

Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs, announced the possibility of Lebanon and Syria joining the Abraham Accords and an upcoming conference for the reconstruction of Gaza. During his speech at the American Jewish Committee on Wednesday, March 8, Witkoff stated that Lebanon and Syria 'can join the Abraham Accords.' Among Donald Trump's actions during his first term was the establishment of the Abraham Accords, which led to the normalization of relations between Israel and three countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. He also announced that an Israeli delegation would soon travel to Doha, the capital of Qatar, or Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to negotiate the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire. Egypt and Qatar are considered key mediators in the Gaza ceasefire. According to Axios, if the negotiations for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas proceed positively, Witkoff is likely to head to the Middle East on Sunday, March 12. Witkoff also announced on the evening of Tuesday, March 7, that a reconstruction conference for Gaza would soon take place, involving regional construction industry stakeholders. Bloomberg reported that he mentioned the potential participation of major players in the construction industry in the Middle East and many Arab builders and designers of large projects at this gathering, predicting that 'people will be astonished by some of the ideas presented at this meeting.' According to this report, Witkoff did not specify the time and location of the gathering but stated that many countries have contacted the U.S. to participate in finding 'some kind of permanent solution' for the war-torn residents of Gaza. This senior U.S. official added that Donald Trump believes it is time to present new solutions for this conflict, which has caused the greatest divisions in the Middle East. Trump has proposed that by relocating Gaza residents to Arab countries, the U.S. could take ownership of the Gaza Strip and, through reconstruction, turn the area into a beautiful place. Concurrently, Israel is trying to extend the Gaza ceasefire to facilitate the release of more hostages held by Hamas militants, a group supported by the Islamic Republic. Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took over 200 hostage during a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 of last year. This action by Hamas was met with a response from Israel, which attacked Gaza, the area controlled by this terrorist group. In this context, Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields. The United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and several other countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Reports indicate an agreement on the release of four Israeli hostages from Hamas terrorists, with Israel's condition for the release of Palestinian prisoners being the cessation of Hamas's show of force with the hostages. Israel is discussing the future of Gaza with the European Union.