NEW YORK: At the United Nations on Tuesday, President Donald Trump privately assured Arab leaders that he would not permit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex the West Bank. Six individuals familiar with the meeting confirmed the pledge, with two describing Trump’s position as unequivocal: Israel, he said, would not be allowed to absorb the West Bank, which remains under the Palestinian Authority rather than Hamas.
Yet despite the firmness of his words, a ceasefire to end Israel’s nearly two-year war against Hamas remains elusive. According to insiders, Trump’s team even circulated a white paper laying out a postwar roadmap touching on governance, security, and regional stabilization, but the prospects for peace appeared distant.
The meeting itself was billed by Trump as his “most important” engagement of the day. Still, the president left without addressing the press, and neither Washington nor Arab capitals issued an official readout. The subsequent UN Security Council session also concluded without comment, underscoring just how delicate and divisive these discussions remain.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğa later described the gathering as “fruitful” during an interview on Fox News, but offered no specifics. He is expected to press the issue further in his scheduled White House meeting with Trump later this week.
For Arab leaders, the silence that followed the meeting reflects a deeper frustration. Washington’s steadfast opposition to Palestinian statehood, coupled with its unwavering support for Netanyahu’s military campaign, has strained trust. Israel’s recent expansion of operations beyond Gaza including an attempt to target Hamas officials during talks in Qatar, only heightened the sense of urgency.
Several participants warned Trump that any Israeli attempt to move into the West Bank could collapse the fragile structure of the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements his administration once touted as a defining foreign policy victory. The fact that these warnings were delivered behind closed doors, and met with guarded silence afterward, highlights the precarious balance Trump now faces: preserving his legacy in the Middle East while managing a war with no clear end in sight.
-Dr. Shahid Siddiqui reports from New York. Follow updates via X @shahidsiddiqui
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