Trump presents 21-point peace plan to Arab, Middle East leaders
US president vows to block Israeli annexation of occupied West Bank, sources told Al Arabiya English
US President Donald Trump has pledged to Arab and Gulf leaders not to allow Israel to annex the occupied West Bank, sources familiar with the matter told our reporters, and his Middle East envoy revealed that a plan for peace in Gaza and the region had been presented.
The assurance and plan were given during Trump’s meeting with Arab and Gulf leaders this week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Regional officials have repeatedly warned that any annexation could further inflame the conflict and jeopardize normalization agreements.
Speaking from New York, Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said that Trump had presented a 21-point plan for peace during the meeting on Tuesday.
“I think it addresses Israeli concerns and, as well, the concerns of all the neighbors in the in the region,” Witkoff said. “And we’re hopeful, and I might say, even confident, that in the coming days, we’ll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough.”
Arab and Islamic leaders thanked Trump for the meeting and highlighted the “unbearable situation in the Gaza Strip,” according to a joint statement.
During the meeting, the leaders emphasized the need to end the war, reach an immediate ceasefire to ensure the release of all hostages and allow humanitarian aid in.
“They reiterated their commitment to cooperate with President Trump and stressed the importance of his leadership to end the war and open horizons for a just and lasting peace,” the joint statement read.
Israel’s government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has constantly vowed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and has signaled its intent to expand control over occupied territory.
The Arab and Islamic states also emphasized the need to ensure stability in the West Bank and at Jerusalem’s holy sites.
Arab and Gulf states have pressed Washington — the main political and military backer of Israel, which is seen as the only side capable of ending the Gaza war — to intervene, warning that annexation could freeze the Abraham Accords. Trump frequently highlights the accords, brokered during his first administration, as a landmark diplomatic achievement.
The United Arab Emirates, a key signatory, has openly declared that annexation of the West Bank would cross a red line for Abu Dhabi, severely undermining the spirit of the normalization deal.
POLITICO was first to report Trump’s commitment to Arab and Gulf leaders that annexation would not be permitted.
