US : Trump Meet Arab & Muslim countries leaders in United Nations

Irfan Bhatti

Donald Trump meets with leaders from key Islamic countries and Arab nations at the United Nations General Meeting to discuss ending the Gaza war and shaping a post-war stabilization plan. The meeting, attended by leaders from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan, highlights Trump's efforts to mediate peace in the region and protect the Abraham Accords."¹   Trump and Arab leaders focused on securing a lasting ceasefire and releasing hostages.  Discussions included potential Arab involvement in stabilizing Gaza after the war.  Protecting the Abraham Accords*: Trump aims to safeguard the landmark diplomatic agreements while keeping the door open for Palestinian recognition.

Transcript

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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