World leaders gathered in Egypt to sign a ceasefire for Gaza, led by US President Donald Trump and regional mediators, presenting the event as a moment of hope and reconstruction. Yet, behind the rhetoric of “a new and beautiful day” lies a harsh reality: Palestinians are being sidelined, and Muslim leaders are failing in their fundamental duty to uphold dignity and justice.
Trump painted a rosy picture of Gaza’s rebuilding, claiming, “Rebuilding is maybe going to be the easiest part… we know how to build better than anybody in the world.” Meanwhile, Gaza is a landscape of death and destruction—over 67,000 lives lost, neighborhoods flattened, and thousands still buried under rubble. The Strip is largely uninhabitable, yet the discussion is framed around Israeli security rather than Palestinian survival, rights, or sovereignty.
The joint statement from Trump, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye, talking of “tolerance” and “equality,” cannot obscure a bitter truth: Palestinian leadership is being reduced to spectators, while Muslim leaders elsewhere largely remain silent or symbolic. Figures like Tony Blair and Jared Kushner are being positioned to oversee Gaza’s governance, sidelining local authority and expertise. This is not oversight—it is domination under the guise of peace.
Muslim leaders have a moral obligation to defend their brethren. Instead, decades of inaction, weak diplomacy, and rhetorical statements without teeth have allowed external powers to dictate Palestinian destiny. If Muslim leaders cannot demand genuine representation, sovereignty, and justice for Gaza, they are complicit in a profound betrayal. Gaza’s people deserve leaders who act with courage, dignity, and unflinching commitment—not bureaucratic gestures or platitudes.
Rebuilding without justice is meaningless. Peace without equality is a facade. Muslim leaders must reclaim their moral and political responsibility: they must place Palestinian agency and rights above international optics, foreign agendas, or superficial diplomacy. Anything less is a betrayal of faith, conscience, and humanity.
