United States President Donald Trump met with the leaders of Muslim countries including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Other leaders included Türkiye Predident Recep Tayyip Erdogan, King Abdullah of Jordan, Prime Minister of Egypt PM Mostafa Madbouly, Emir Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto. Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, UAE Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Deputy PM of Pakistan Ishaq Dar were also part of the high profile meeting.
Reports said President Trump wanted phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. He suggested Muslim countries should deploy forces in the Palestinian enclave. His plan for “peace in Gaza” also included rehabilitation, funding and transition.
The US President does not want any role of Hamas in future of Gaza. He sought Muslim leaders’ help for the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza. The US, as per reports, prepared the plan without taking on board Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, Washington and Til Aviv agree upon at least one agenda: Gaza without Hamas.
Trump termed the meeting extraordinary. He believed only Muslim leaders could help in return of hostages. He said he chaired over 32 meetings on Gaza in Washington and his purpose was to establish peace in the Middle East.
The extraordinary meeting took place at a time when various western nations have recognised Palestine. They included British , Canada and Australia. France and Monaco have also acknowledged the official statehood of Palestine. Muslim world and Palestinian Authority welcomed the move, calling it an important steps toward two-state solution. Trump, earlier, addressed the UNGA’s session where he criticised the Western nations’ move to recognise Palestine.
Pre-Meeting Development:
Aljazeera , earlier, reported that discussion on Gaza peace plan were included at the top of the agenda for the high-level meeting.
Reports said Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE , Turkey , Jordan and Indonesia on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UNGA in New York. It quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump Plan For Gaza:
Trump, said media reports, will discuss the likely and feasible plan for Israeli forces’ withdrawal from Gaza. The US President wanted the regional countries to send their troops to maintain security of the Palestinian enclave. He will discuss his vision regarding transition, rebuilding and funding to maintain Gaza order.
Dr. Umair Rana , a professor at Punjab University Lahore, believed any plan to establish peace in Gaza cannot word without taking on board Hamas leadership. Hamas, he said, has become a vital and important part of Gaza. As the group has already expressed willingness for Gaza ceasefire plan with some condition, the mediators should take them on board, he suggested.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Netanyahu is consistently opposing the two-state solution. Analysts believe his political survival linked to the support of Greater Israel slogan.
“Netanyahu has very much attached to the vision of Greater Israel, antiwar.com has stated.”
Muslim leaders could also face hardliners’ bitter opposition within their own countries in case they move forward with the two-state solution. However, moderate voices within the vast majority of the Jewish and Muslim community wanted peace in Middle East. They give no weight to the ideas of “Greater Israel” or “Only Palestine”.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and France have jointly organised a conference on two-state solution at the UN on Monday. Different countries including Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced on occasion that his country his country is fully ready to provide peacekeeping forces in Palestine.
