Trump to meet Arab and Muslim leaders in New York
US President Donald Trump is preparing to convene a select group of Arab and Muslim leaders on Tuesday during the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss possible steps toward ending the Israeli war on Gaza, Axios reported, citing two Arab officials familiar with the plans.
The White House also wants these countries to participate in a post-war plan for Gaza and may even consider sending troops to join stabilization forces that would replace the Israeli army.
The talks are set to take place just days before Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on September 29. The timing coincides with a wave of Western recognition of the State of Palestine and growing threats from Israel to usurp more Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment, as per the report.
The White House has already sent invitations. The meeting is expected to take place on Tuesday at 2:30 PM ET, just days before Trump’s scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on September 29. It comes amid a wave of Palestinian recognition and Israeli threats to annex parts of the West Bank.
Officials from Arab states said leaders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey have been invited.
Arab leaders are expected to ask Trump to pressure Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and refrain from annexing parts of the West Bank.
The UAE has already warned the White House that Israeli annexation could jeopardize the Abraham Accords, which are Trump’s key foreign policy achievement from his first presidential term.
Axios sources also said that on September 23, Trump plans a separate meeting with leaders from several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
A key issue in that meeting would be the concerns of the Gulf countries about the Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar. It was the first-ever Israeli attack on one of the Gulf countries, Axios reported.
