00:00President Donald Trump made a promise to Muslim and Arab leaders at a meeting on Tuesday that
00:05he would not allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank.
00:10According to two of those individuals, Trump was firm on the issue and promised that Israel
00:15would not be permitted to occupy the West Bank, which is governed by the Palestinian
00:19Authority and not Hamas. Despite Trump's assurance, a ceasefire to end Israel's nearly
00:25two-year war against Hamas was nowhere near happening, according to another person with
00:30knowledge of the talks. Two others familiar with the matter said Trump and his team presented
00:35a white paper outlining the administration's plan to end the war, including the annexation
00:41promise and other details such as governance and post-war security. Trump told reporters
00:46ahead of his sit-down with eight Arab and Muslim countries at the United Nations headquarters
00:51that it was his most important of the day, but he left without speaking to reporters and
00:56the participants have yet to issue any official readout about the substance of their conversation.
01:01Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the meeting as fruitful Tuesday evening during
01:07an interview on Fox News Channel, but he did not elaborate. Erdogan and Trump are scheduled
01:12to meet again at the White House on Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to
01:18a request for comment. Arab leaders have been frustrated by Trump's opposition to the recognition
01:23of a Palestinian state and his continued support of Netanyahu's assault on Hamas, which expanded
01:29beyond Gaza earlier this month when Israel tried to take out Hamas officials when they were
01:33in Qatar for peace talks. According to two people who were present at the meeting on Tuesday,
01:39they intended to impress upon the President of the United States that any Israeli incursion into
01:44the West Bank would likely result in the dissolution of the Abraham Accords. The Accords marked the
01:49normalization of relations between Israel and a number of Arab nations, making them Trump's most
01:55significant accomplishment in foreign policy during his first term. The decision by a number of top U.S.
02:01allies to recognize a Palestinian state has prompted calls inside of Israel on Netanyahu to annex all
02:08or parts of the West Bank. His government's far-right members see the present as an opportunity to
02:13accomplish the Israeli right's long-cherished goal of absorbing the territory. Netanyahu may see this
02:19as an opportunity to appeal to hardline supporters in advance of Israeli elections next year. Israel has
02:26already done a lot under Netanyahu to extend and strengthen its de facto control of the West Bank,
02:32expanding Jewish settlements there and increasing its security presence there. Arab and European
02:37officials have warned that formal annexation of the West Bank would all but destroy any last
02:42hopes for a two-state solution. Arab states have said it is a red line that would halt any hopes for
02:48Israel's further integration into the Middle East. On Monday, Netanyahu will meet with President Trump
02:55at the White House. Arab officials and others are wondering if Trump will decide to do more to
03:00pressure Netanyahu to end the war that has killed over 64,000 Palestinians. The 2020 Abraham Accords
03:07came after Israel had threatened to annex the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates offered to
03:12normalize ties in exchange for an Israeli promise not to do so, helping to kick off the US-brokered
03:18effort that the Trump team hopes to expand.
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