U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday met several Muslim leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to deliberate on a plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza.
Held on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at United Nations Headquarters, the meeting included leaders of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.A.E., Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye and Indonesia.
“We have to get the hostages back … This is the group that can do it, more than any other group in the world,” Trump told the leaders in a televised interaction ahead of the meeting. “It’s an honor to be with you,” he said. “We had 32 meetings here, this is the one that’s very important because we’re gonna end something that should’ve probably never started,” he added.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani thanked the president for hosting such an important meeting at such an important time, stressing the gathered leaders were there to secure an end to the war. “We count on your leadership as well to end this war and to help the people of Gaza,” he said.
Following the meeting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the talks as extremely productive.
According to the White House, Trump’s plan calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the deployment of regional peacekeeping troops, and an internationally supported transition and reconstruction process for the battered enclave. It envisages a role for the Palestinian Authority, but not for Hamas, which both Washington and Tel Aviv insist must be dismantled.
U.S. media has reported that Washington wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to secure funding for transition and rebuilding programs.
Palestine recognition
Earlier, addressing the UNGA, Trump said that greater recognition for Palestine would amount to rewarding “horrible atrocities” by Hamas. He called on world powers to focus instead on securing the release of prisoners held in Gaza. He said the U.S. wants a “ceasefire-for-prisoners” deal that would see the return of all remaining prisoners, alive and dead. “We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to immediately negotiate peace,” he added.
Spanning nearly an hour, his speech praised the United States and himself, claiming the country was passing through a golden age. Taking aim at the U.N., he claimed it had helped in peacekeeping and questioned its purpose. All it did, he said, was write strongly worded letters without follow up. Empty words, he said, did not end wars. He also criticized the U.N. for a broken escalator and a malfunctioning teleprompter and slammed the global body for its aid to asylum seekers.
On Europe, the U.S. president declared it was in serious trouble. “They have been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody has ever seen before … Both the immigration and suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe,” he said, while criticizing London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Trump described climate change as “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,” claiming it was an excuse to hike to energy costs. “If you don’t get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail,” he said of the U.K. and its taxes on North Sea oil.
“I love Europe. I love the people of Europe. And I hate to see it being devastated by energy and immigration. This double-tailed monster destroys everything in its wake … you want to be politically correct and you are destroying your heritage,” he said. “Let us protect religious liberty, including for the most persecuted religion on the planet today—it’s called Christianity.”
On Ukraine, he criticized President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to end the Ukrainian conflict, warning the U.S. is ready to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” to end the bloodshed. He said European nations must stop buying Russian energy to ensure the success of this plan.