US President Donald Trump presented his plan for ending the war, the release of the hostages and the rehabilitation of Gaza under non-Hamas rule during a multilateral meeting with the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries, two Arab diplomats briefed on the proposal told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.
Parts of the plan presented by Trump at the Tuesday meeting are based on a proposal crafted by former UK prime minister Tony Blair, which was revealed by The Times of Israel last week.
While the Blair plan focuses on the post-war management of Gaza, the plan presented by Trump also outlines how the war itself would end, envisioning a ceasefire of several weeks during which all of the remaining 48 hostages would be released, one of the Arab diplomats said.
The participating countries were briefed on the US proposal ahead of time and presented a position paper that welcomed Trump’s plan, a source familiar with the matter said.
The paper’s four key points were: welcoming the proposal for a comprehensive end to the war in Gaza; stressing the importance of bringing back the hostages, ending the war and allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza; committing to be part of a peaceful solution for the region, based on Trump’s vision; and calling out continued Israeli strikes on countries in the region, including the recent attack on Hamas chiefs in Qatar.
The position paper also said the countries reject continued Israeli military operations in Gaza, an Israeli occupation of Gaza and the establishment of settlements there, forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza and preventing those who left from returning, Israeli annexation of the West Bank, and steps that violate the status quo at Jerusalem holy sites.
The source familiar with the matter said the White House on Wednesday is planning to issue a statement on the meeting but is waiting to receive approval of the wording from all participating countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan.
“We want to end the war in Gaza. We’re going to end it. Maybe we can end it right now,” Trump told the press at the start of the meeting before reporters were ushered out of the room.
“This is my most important meeting,” he continued. “But this is the one that’s very important to me because we’re going to end something that should have probably never started.”
Trump said the sit-down included “all of the big players except for Israel, but that’s going to be next,” in apparent reference to his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump also complimented Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s speech to the General Assembly earlier, in which Subianto said peace requires guaranteeing Israel’s security.
Following the meeting, Trump simply waved to gathered news reporters without commenting on how things went, and there was no immediate comment from the White House. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff offered a thumbs-up when asked how the meeting had fared.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the meeting with Trump as “very fruitful.”
Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said a joint declaration from the meeting would be published and that he was “pleased” with the outcomes of the meeting, but did not elaborate.
Emirati state news agency WAM meanwhile reported that the meeting focused on ending the ongoing war in Gaza and reaching a permanent ceasefire. The news agency said releasing all hostages and taking steps toward addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave were also discussed as priorities.