Trump reluctantly abandons Gaza real estate dream as bombs keep ruining the view

President Donald Trump met with leaders from eight Arab and Muslim countries on Tuesday at the United Nations building in New York. The meeting happened during the UN General Assembly. Leaders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan came to the important talk.

Trump called the meeting his “most important” of the day before going in. He told reporters that the group could “make it happen” when it comes to ending the war in Gaza. The meeting was about Trump’s plan to end the fight between Israel and Hamas and bring back the hostages held in Gaza. 

According to Politico, six people who knew about the talk said Trump made a clear promise that he won’t let Israel take over the West Bank. Two sources said Trump was very firm about this during the meeting. The West Bank is run by the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas. Trump’s team also showed a paper with the government’s plan to end the war, which included the promise to stop West Bank takeover.

Arab leaders worry about Israeli growth

The Arab leaders had big worries going into the meeting. They wanted to make it clear that any Israeli move into the West Bank would likely destroy the Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords are deals that made relations normal between Israel and several Arab countries during Trump’s first time as president. These deals are seen as Trump’s biggest foreign policy win from his earlier time in office.

The UAE had already told the White House that Israeli takeover of parts of the West Bank could ruin the Abraham Accords. This would be a huge hit to the progress made in recent years. The accords brought Israel’s ties with Arab countries out in the open after many years of secret cooperation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the meeting was “very good” in a Fox News talk Tuesday night. But he did not share exact details about what they discussed. Erdogan and Trump will meet again at the White House on Thursday.

Even with Trump’s promise to Arab leaders, a ceasefire to end the almost two-year war between Israel and Hamas is still far away. The fight has caused major damage in Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians have died according to local health officials. 

Trump’s government wants Arab and Muslim countries to send soldiers to Gaza as part of a group that would replace the Israeli military after the war ends. The White House has not yet answered requests for comments about what happened in the meeting. The president keeps facing big political problems as he deals with complex talks between countries while handling pressure at home.