US President Donald Trump shared a new plan for peace in Gaza with the leaders of Arab and Islamic countries at the UN General Assembly in New York this week.
The initiative was seen by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan, and should address the concerns of Israel and countries across the Middle East, Washington has said.
But after nearly two years of devastating war in the Gaza Strip, now reduced mostly to rubble, what do we know about Trump’s latest initiative?
– How would the plan end the fighting? –
A diplomatic source with knowledge of the meeting told AFP the plan envisaged a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory and an Israeli withdrawal as well as an influx of humanitarian aid.
According to the source, the Arab and Muslim leaders welcomed the proposal but also called for an end to Israel’s military operations in Gaza and any attempt to occupy the territory.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said on Wednesday that the United States “presented what we call the Trump 21-point plan for peace in the Mideast and Gaza.”
“I think it addresses Israeli concerns as well as the concerns of all the neighbours in the region,” he told a summit on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
According to the US news website Axios, Trump stressed to the Arab and Muslim leaders that the war must end urgently, warning Israel risks growing international isolation the longer it drags on.
– What happens to Hamas? –
The diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive meeting, said the US plan proposed a new governance initiative for Gaza that excludes Hamas.
Since the Gaza war started with Hamas’s October 2023 attack on southern Israel, Israel has vowed to eliminate the Palestinian militants and has said it can have no future role in governance.
The Arab and Muslim leaders also outlined in the meeting that they opposed steps that would undermine reform of the Palestinian Authority or prevent it from being empowered to govern both Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the source added.
According to Axios, the Trump plan included some role for the PA, a security force combining Palestinians with troops from Arab and Muslim countries, and funding from regional states to support reconstruction and the new administration in Gaza.
The news outlet also stated that the US proposals were described as variations of ideas discussed over the past six months, updated from earlier plans by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
– Guarantees on annexation –
The Arab and Muslim leaders pressed for assurances against the annexation of parts of the West Bank or any measures that would alter the legal and historic status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites, the diplomatic source said.
The leaders also urged guarantees against the displacement of Gazans, any obstruction of their return, and any attempt to occupy Gaza, the source added.
According to Axios, Trump told the Middle East and other Muslim leaders he would not allow Israel to annex parts of the West Bank.
Trump provoked outrage across the Arab world but delighted Israel in February when he raised the idea of turning Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after moving out its Palestinian residents and putting it under American control.
– What are the US and its allies saying? –
Speaking in New York on Wednesday, his envoy Witkoff said the United States was “hopeful, and I might say even confident, that in the coming days we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough”.
A joint statement from the Arab and Islamic countries represented in Tuesday’s meeting said the leaders had “reiterated their commitment to cooperate with President Trump, and stressed the importance of his leadership to end the war”.
The diplomatic source stated that the meeting had been “positive.”
Axios quoted Arab officials as saying that participants left the meeting “very hopeful” and that “for the first time we felt there was a serious plan on the table.”
© Agence France-Presse
