LONDON: During a meeting with US President Donald Trump, eight leaders and ministers from Arab and Islamic states stressed the need to end the war in Gaza.
The leaders of Qatar, Jordan, Turkiye, Indonesia and Pakistan, as well as Egypt’s prime minister and the foreign ministers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, met with Trump on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
They highlighted the “humanitarian catastrophe and high human toll” in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians since October 2023.
They said the war has “serious consequences for the region and impact on the Muslim world,” rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians from the enclave, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
They added that an immediate ceasefire, the release of Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas, and the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid into Gaza are “the first step toward a just and lasting peace.”
They reaffirmed their commitment to rebuilding the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, and stressed the need for a comprehensive construction plan that outlines security arrangements in the territory and ensures international support for the Palestinian Authority, which they support in its reform efforts.
They also stressed the importance of protecting Jerusalem’s holy sites and maintaining stability in the occupied West Bank, where violence by Israeli settlers has increased since late 2023.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate with Trump to end the war and achieve peace.
The meeting was co-hosted by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Kamal Madbouly, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
