When Sisi, Erdoğan and Netanyahu are flattered this way...

The ceasefire brought scenes of relief and reunion. Then came the performance of power. The 'theatre of peace' at Sharm el-Sheikh told another story.

Yes, it is commendable that the killing has stopped. For now. And that it is impossible not to feel overwhelmed by emotion when watching innocent people reunite with their loved ones after two harrowing years in captivity, both Israelis and Palestinians. Although for Palestinians, prisoners and displaced alike, returning home meant confronting rubble and uncertainty, and being told they were not allowed to celebrate. Israel had set a limit to joy, as it has long set limits to movement, water, and electricity.

We will return to the problems of tomorrow in this conflict in the following section.

For now, look at the images and footage emerging from the so-called peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, shall we? There is another angle might be easily missed at this moment.

The theatre that has been set up at Sharm al-Sheikh will have consequences, both intended and unintended.

Trump designed the meeting to exude his omnipotence and also give the finger to the Western establishment. It was a Trumpian transposition of order: leaders of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada, the European Council president, and the UN Secretary-General sat in the background while he placed himself at the centre of a ridiculously long table, flanked by Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim and Egypt’s Sisi on his right and Turkey’s Erdoğan on his left.

True that these three, Tamim, Sisi, and Erdoğan, played key roles in finalising the ceasefire and persuading Hamas. It was only fitting, then, to have them at the forefront when signing what is ostensibly a peace document. No one quite knows what that document actually entails. A guarantorship, perhaps, or a vague pledge of goodwill. In any case, it carries little weight against the frailty of this peace.

There is also logic in not having any Western leaders at the front table, so as to avoid the impression that this is a Western or colonial project. Even so, the 20-point plan behind it was reportedly drafted by none other than Tony Blair. Hence Steve Witkoff’s special thanks on social media to Starmer’s security adviser Jonathan Powell, the Blair’s right-hand man, praising his “immense input.” Sources close to journalist Emily Maitlis added that Blair had done a lot of “Tonying” in recent months for this deal, meaning he had ‘done his thing again’ as the architect of the Good Friday Agreement and the former Quartet envoy for the Arab-Israeli conflict.

But there was more to this episode than a victory lap for Trump. In Israel and later in Egypt, he was not legitimising so much as whitewashing corruption and authoritarianism, traits he shares with the very men he praised.

I do not need a lecture on realpolitik, Machiavellian instincts, or the solipsism of Donald J. Trump. I know these traits, whose genealogy runs deep into antiquity. I also know that Trump and his ilk have created a world where war is peace, black is white, two plus two depends on the situation, and time can occasionally show thirteen o’clock. We have named this world aptly: dystopian, Orwellian; and diagnosed our condition as one in which millions are gaslit by their governments.

There is no moral or mental stupor here, but something else at play. This spectacle reinforces the idea that authoritarianism works, that being a strongman or a “tough cookie” brings praise and legitimacy. The effect is corrosive to democracy and individual liberty.

For Sisi, Trump said: “I am here with my friend, a strong leader, the president … and also a general, and he is good at both. They have a low crime rate here, unlike the United States, where we have a high crime rate because we have state governors who don’t know what they’re doing. But here in Egypt, they don’t mess around when it comes to crime.”

For Erdoğan, Trump said: “This gentleman from a place called Turkey has one of the most powerful armies in the world. It is much more powerful than he even lets on. If you look at the recent conflicts, he was at the top of them and he was winning them. He did win them. He doesn’t want any credit. He doesn’t want anything. He just wants to be left alone. He is a tough cookie, but he has been my friend, and every time I have needed him, he has been there for me. So I just want to thank President Erdoğan of Turkey.”

To Netanyahu, Trump said: “I want to express my gratitude to a man of exceptional courage and patriotism, whose partnership did so much to make this momentous day possible. You know who I am talking about. There is only one, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Bibi, please stand up.” When Netanyahu received applause from the floor, Trump turned to the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and said, “Why don’t you give this guy a pardon?” referring to Netanyahu’s corruption charges.

Israelis had flooded the streets to denounce Netanyahu’s tenure and corruption scandals for more than a year around 2020, and again in 2023 until October 7, when protests against his attempt to subjugate the Supreme Court reached their height. His project was to alter the composition of the judicial committee and dismantle the bar, the very steps Erdoğan had taken in and around 2018. But beyond all that, Netanyahu is a war criminal, a genocide enabler, and a callous, selfish man. To call him a courageous patriot and publicly demand his pardon blocks any meaningful opposition to his rule in the short to medium term.

Similarly, Sisi, the army commander who seized power after the massacre at Rabaa Square in Cairo in 2013, has since tightened his authoritarian grip as Egyptians’ living standards have declined. He rules with an iron fist, leaving no room for human rights or free speech. If you want to understand the intricacies of crime and punishment in Egypt as apparently Trump is, there are numerous human rights reports documenting torture, coercion, and the absence of due process.

And Erdoğan, who received the longest share of Trump’s praise, presides over a judiciary in ruins, manages the economy through crony capitalist networks, and controls the press and every institution of public life. There is not one independent body left outside his arbitrary reach.

Trump praises these men partly because he admires their methods and partly to send a message to the so-called guardians of the liberal, rules-based order. His provocations are not random. They resonate with his MAGA base, which sees in these strongmen a reflection of his own brand of defiance. It is a coherent circle for him, but it has consequences.

When Trump flatters these leaders, the fragile spaces where opposition movements struggle to survive in Egypt, in Israel, and in Turkey begin to close. The gulf between lived reality and the international validation of these rulers deepens, creating disorientation and despair. It drains what little energy remains for dissent.

This is one way authoritarianism reproduces itself, without the need for new coups, usurpations, or mass purges. It only needs to be normalised and rewarded with applause. Many becomes convinced that stability, even in its most repressive form, is preferable to uncertainty, and that safety can only come from a strong leader.

It may seem a side issue in the larger story of Palestine’s future. But it is not. The habits of power on display in Sharm el-Sheikh belong to the same architecture that keeps Gaza under siege and will keep it so, that sanctifies impunity, and that calls tyranny leadership in tough-guy form. Everything connects.

The problems with this ‘peace plan’

1. It is not a peace plan. It is a hostage-swap deal that has already served its purpose.

2. It is poorly developed. There is no reference to anything tangible — no dates, no citation of UN resolutions, no mention of borders, no notion of next steps.

3. It creates a so-called trusteeship (my previous post on this is here), the “Board of Peace,” chaired by Trump and run by Blair. There is no reference to international law or UN Security Council approval outlining how this board will be established or governed. And how will Palestinians — the indigenous people of the land — be represented on it? It may be technocratic or transitional, but Palestinians have a right to agency over the future of their nation.

4. There is no explanation of when, how, or by whom Gaza will be rebuilt with functioning water, sanitation, and electricity.

5. The plan is so vague and flimsy that there is no guarantee Netanyahu, an implacable man willing to do anything to stay in power, will not restart the war under any pretext or continue it through proxy militias. He may simply delay withdrawal indefinitely.

6. Even if everything proceeds smoothly, the plan merely restores the status quo ante. There is no political momentum behind either a two-state or one-state solution, no reference linking Gaza to the West Bank, no recognition of Palestine as a whole.

7. And the status quo ante was precisely the problem that brought us here.

Yet it would be negligent not to point out these fault lines. And it is worth remembering that we are not in a Marvel movie where Trump arrives to rescue the Middle East with an American-flagged shield. There must be a limit to his levity and his schtick. A genocide was committed in full view of the world. It must be tried, and justice must be served. No plan, and no Trump victory lap, should be allowed to obscure that.