Arab Nations Back Trump Push for US-Backed Gaza Peace Plan Amid Israeli Rejection
Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia joined President Trump in urging Israel to accept a US-backed 15-point Gaza peace proposal, which Israel has called unacceptable.
Four Arab states—Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—along with Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia issued a joint statement on Sunday urging Israel to reconsider a US-backed Gaza peace plan presented by President Donald Trump. The statement warned that Israel’s opposition could jeopardise the deal and risk further escalation in the enclave.
Trump’s special envoy for Gaza, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Hamas officials and regional mediators in an effort to revive the proposal, according to a Middle East diplomat. Kushner and the president’s peace envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, are slated to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to seek Israeli participation after Netanyahu labeled the plan “unacceptable.”
The 15-point plan, a scaled-down version of Trump’s earlier 20-point proposal, calls for Hamas to disarm in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Israel has continued airstrikes targeting Hamas positions, including a recent strike on an apartment building in the Nuseirat refugee camp that wounded several people. Hamas has responded that it will only lay down arms once Israeli attacks cease and forces withdraw from the territory, which currently occupies more than half of Gaza.
Since the plan’s announcement, human-rights groups and medical sources say at least 1,250 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, while Israeli officials report four of their soldiers died in clashes with Gaza militants.