It was a perfect alignment. Listening to Donald Trump on Monday, September 29, it seemed that the United States, Israel and the Arab countries all spoke with one voice in support of his peace plan for Gaza. All that remained was for Hamas to accept it as well. But the reality was far more complicated: The US president's plan was approved through gritted teeth. In Arab capitals, the prevailing feeling was that they had once again been deceived by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Washington's endorsement. Between what Trump outlined to them on September 23 in New York and the text released by the White House on Monday, substantial amendments had been made at Israel's behest.

The main Arab and Muslim countries spent several hours on Saturday dissecting the draft plan sent by Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff. They submitted amendments on key points. According to Le Monde's information, these focused in particular on proposals for revitalizing the Palestinian Authority, the prospect of creating a Palestinian state including the West Bank, and finally, a binding timetable for political transition. In the French-Saudi initiative, included in the New York declaration at the end of July, which proposed a roadmap for the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, a one-year deadline for holding Palestinian general elections was specifically mentioned.

You have 78.92% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.