Trump's warning escalated months of pressure on the terror organization to release remaining hostages, threatening expanded warfare to end nearly two years of fighting. "Israel would have my full backing to finish the job of destroying the threat of Hamas," Trump declared if negotiations collapse.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backed Trump's diplomatic gamble during White House meetings, affirming independent military action remained viable, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Israel will finish the job by itself," Netanyahu stated. "This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way, but it has to be done." The proposed framework would establish Trump as chairman of a "Board of Peace" overseeing Gaza's temporary governance while Arab-led stabilization forces maintain order and Israeli forces gradually withdraw.

Video: Trump and Netanyahu on Sept. 30, 2025 / Credit: Reuters

Eight Arab foreign ministers responded by endorsing American diplomatic initiatives while demanding complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the territory's reconstruction, The Wall Street Journal noted. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt pledged cooperation with Washington to terminate the conflict and requested renewed negotiations leading to Palestinian statehood. Israeli input helped develop the framework, with Jerusalem securing modifications that preserve potential Palestinian sovereignty while avoiding the term "two-state solution."

Michael Singh of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy assessed the approach positively, stating the framework "tries to bridge some of the gaps that have plagued diplomacy to date," though "it may not end the fighting or gain immediate purchase." However, clear obstacles emerged as Hamas has not indicated endorsement, Arab nations appear unlikely to deploy forces during continued Israeli operations, and Netanyahu rejected Palestinian Authority involvement in postwar governance. "Gaza will have a peaceful civilian administration that is run neither by Hamas nor by the Palestinian Authority," Netanyahu declared, adding "the vast majority of Israelis have no faith that the PA leopard will change its spots."

Hamas has opposed disarmament requirements while claiming difficulty releasing all hostages within the 48-hour timeframe, having lost contact with some holding groups, Arab officials reported. Without clear two-state solution progress, Saudi Arabia appears unlikely to finance the framework, while inherent complications exclude skepticism from various officials about ending hostilities advantaging their objectives. Shalom Lipner of the Atlantic Council warned: "There will be many spoilers working hard to make sure that doesn't happen."

Trump pressured Netanyahu toward accepting peace framework terms during a three-way conversation with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, where the Israeli leader apologized for deadly strikes against Hamas negotiators in Doha. "I want to assure you that Israel was targeting Hamas, not Qataris. I also want to assure you that Israel has no plan to violate your sovereignty again in the future, and I have made that commitment to the president," Netanyahu stated according to his office's readout, The Wall Street Journal confirmed.

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At a press conference in New York on Thursday, Guterres said, "The international community must not only support the solution of an Israeli and Palestinian state living side by side in peace, but also work to create the conditions that will make it possible."

The conference, scheduled for June 17–20 at UN headquarters in New York, is being held at the initiative of the UN General Assembly. It will feature political positions from around the world in an effort to advance an end to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. France and Saudi Arabia, which are jointly chairing the event, are spearheading the initiative. Among the expected participants are French President Emmanuel Macron and other senior officials. Israel has already announced it will not take part.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of establishing a Palestinian state, a stance that was formally enshrined in a Knesset resolution passed by a wide margin last year. Israel has repeatedly made clear that the creation of a Palestinian state would be seen as "a reward for terrorism" in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7.

Jonathan Heronoff, spokesman for the Israeli mission to the UN, explained Israel's decision to boycott the event: "We will not participate in a conference that does not first and urgently address the need to condemn Hamas and secure the return of all hostages still held in Gaza, hostages who were brutally abducted during the massacre carried out by Hamas against 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals on October 7, 2023."

The conference is expected to become yet another international platform for mounting pressure on Israel to adopt the two-state solution, despite Israel's firm opposition at this stage, as long as the Hamas issue and the return of the hostages remain unresolved.

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Prabowo Subianto, speaking with French President Emmanuel Macron in Jakarta, stressed ensuring Israel's security alongside Palestinian independence. Macron endorsed efforts toward a Palestinian state.

Indonesia, which does not currently recognize Israel, could see a major foreign policy change under Prabowo Subianto's leadership.

Prabowo made the comments alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, who reiterated his support for a two-state resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict during a speech in Indonesia, just days after Israel Hayom revealed France could recognize "Palestine" as early as June, when it convenes a conference on the current conflict.

According to Reuters, Macron is increasingly inclined to recognize a Palestinian state, a step that could strain relations with Israel and highlight divisions among Western allies. Macron has been highly critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days over his prosecution of the Gaza war. What the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is doing is unacceptable… There is no water, no medicine, the wounded cannot get out, the doctors cannot get in. What he is doing is shameful," Macron told TF1, triggering an angry response from Israel, which accused him of siding with Hamas.

Reuters noted that Macron emphasized, "Only a political solution will make it possible to restore peace and build for the long term." Macron's conference, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia, will be a Gaza-focused event in New York to advance recognition of both a Palestinian state and Israel's right to peace and security.

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The leaders criticized Israel's recent announcement to permit only a minimal amount of food into Gaza as "wholly inadequate." They called for cooperation with the United Nations to restore aid delivery in accordance with humanitarian principles. Additionally, they pressed Hamas to release all hostages held since the October 7, 2023, attack, which they described as "heinous." The statement emphasized that Israel's restrictions on essential aid risk violating International Humanitarian Law, a point underscored in the UK government's release.

While acknowledging Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism following the October 7 attack, the leaders labeled the current escalation "wholly disproportionate." They warned that continued military action and aid restrictions could prompt "further concrete actions" from their governments, though specifics were not outlined in the statement.

The leaders also expressed strong opposition to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, calling such actions illegal and detrimental to a future Palestinian state. "We will not hesitate to take further action, including targeted sanctions," they noted regarding this activity.  The statement reaffirmed support for US, Qatar, and Egypt-led efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire, release hostages, and end Hamas' control of Gaza. The leaders endorsed a two-state solution as the path to lasting peace, citing the June 18, 2024, conference in New York, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, as a key step toward this goal.

The statement concluded with a commitment to work with the Palestinian Authority, regional partners, Israel, and the United States to develop a consensus on Gaza's future, building on an Arab-led plan. The leaders highlighted the upcoming High-level Two-State Solution Conference at the United Nations in June 2025 as a critical opportunity to advance international support for a Palestinian state, which they view as essential for regional stability.

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The plan included a complex solution for Jerusalem, proposing split capitals and international oversight of religious sites. A committee of trustees, including representatives from Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United States, would have administered the "holy basin" area containing the Old City.

During the September 16, 2008 meeting in Jerusalem, Olmert urged Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to sign the agreement. "In the next 50 years, you will not find one Israeli leader that will propose to you what I propose to you now. Sign it! Sign it and let's change history!" Olmert recalls saying during the meeting.

According to Rafiq Husseini, Abbas's chief of staff at the time, the Palestinians viewed the proposal skeptically due to Olmert's political situation as he was involved in a corruption scandal and had already announced that he was planning to resign. "Of course, we laughed. It is unfortunate that Olmert, regardless of how nice he was... was a lame duck. We will go nowhere with this," Husseini says in the documentary.

The proposal would have required evacuating numerous Jewish settlements throughout the West Bank and Jordan Valley, a potentially more significant undertaking than the 2005 Gaza withdrawal. However, the plan never progressed after Abbas declined to sign without consulting experts.

Ehud Olmert has revealed publicly for the first time the map of the peace offer that Mahmoud Abbas rejected in 2008 (the picture on the right is Abbas' sketch of it.

Abbas rejected this ridiculously generous offer and now there will never be a Palestinian state in any borders. pic.twitter.com/dmJpFDt5W6

— Saul Sadka (@Saul_Sadka) February 24, 2025

In the following months, escalating tensions led to Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu's subsequent election victory in February 2009 effectively ended prospects for implementing the proposal.

The revelation comes at a time when the two-state solution appears increasingly remote. Since the Oslo Accords signing in 1993, which saw Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat shake hands at the White House, multiple peace initiatives have failed to achieve lasting results.

Abba Eban's 1973 observation about how the Palestinians "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity" has become a recurring theme in Israeli-Palestinian relations, though the documentary suggests the reality is more complex than simple rejection.

The previously unseen map joins other unrealized peace proposals, including the 2001 Taba negotiations, which briefly showed promise before being overtaken by regional violence and political transitions.

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The Arab Israeli sector is less than thrilled with the performance thus far of the Bennett-Lapid government, a new political survey conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation in the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University reveals.

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Respondents also rated the governments' attempts to contain rampant crime in the Arab sector very low (2.13 on a scale of 1-5).

How does the Arab public in Israel view the Ra'am Party joining the coalition? A total of 40.5% said they thought that the move by Ra'am would inspire more Arab voter turnout in the next election, whereas 22.7% said they thought it would lead to decreased voter turnout.

When asked if they would vote in Knesset elections if they were held now, nearly two-thirds (61.1%) of respondents said they would vote, compared to 32.9% who said they would not vote.

A large majority of respondents (71.4%) said they supported the reformation of the Joint Arab List ticket, which until the last election included the parties Hadash, Ta'al, Balad, and Ra'am. Only 23.7% said that they did not support the idea of reforming the list.

Slightly more than half (51%) of respondents said they do not expect the current coalition to last four years, compared to 29.1% who said they expected the government to last its elected four-year term.

On a scale of 1-5, the average grade respondents gave the government was 2.37. When asked how much faith they had in the government's plans to fight crime in Arab communities, the grade was also low: 2.13 on a scale of 1-5. Their grade for the government's five-year plan to invest in the Arab sector was similarly low: 2.29.

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More than half (56.2%) of respondents said that Ra'am should ask for a ministerial or deputy-minister position in the cabinet, and not be satisfied with coalition membership.

Slightly more than half (51.8%) of respondents said that the wave of rioting and attacks in mixed cities that erupted during Operation Guardian of the Wall against Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in May of this year had caused severe damage to relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 23.7% of respondents said they believed the ideal solution would be a two-state plan based on Israel's 1967 borders, whereas another 26% said they thought the best solution to the conflict would be a single Jewish-Palestinian state. Interestingly, 37.9% said they foresaw no solution in the near future and expected the situation to remain as it is.

When asked if they believed that the Abraham Accords normalizing ties between Israel and Arab states would help stabilize the Middle East, 63.2% of respondents said that they did not expect the accords to do anything to promote a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, but 55.8% said they believed that the accords were a "positive development" for Israel's Arab citizens.

According to Dr. Arik Rodnitzky, "The new survey illustrates the changes taking place in Arab society, which on one hand wants to increase the rate of integration into Israeli society and be a major player in the coalition and the government, and on the other expresses a lack of trust in the government and its abilities to change the reality and take care of Arab citizens' well-being."

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Speaking at the virtual national conference of liberal advocacy group J Street on Monday, former Democratic presidential candidates and senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren indicated that they were willing to place conditions on the aid Congress has promised Israel.

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"I strongly believe that we must also be willing to bring real pressure to bear, including restricting US aid, in response to moves by either side that undermine the chances for peace," Sanders said in his virtual speech.

"The truth is that the United States gives an enormous amount of military aid to Israel. It also provides some humanitarian and economic aid to the Palestinians. It is totally appropriate for the United States to say what that aid may and may not be used for," he said.

Warren called for restricting military aid to Israel if the aid is being used in a way that prevents the parties from moving towards a two-state solution, which she said included being used in the West Bank.

"If we're serious about arresting settlement expansion and helping move the parties towards a two-state solution, then it would be irresponsible not to consider all of the tools we have at our disposal," she said.

"By continuing to provide military aid without restriction, we provide no incentive for Israel to adjust course," she said. "The United States cannot stand for security, human rights, and dignity, and at the same moment turn a blind eye to the suffering of Palestinians under Israeli occupation."

Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, drew a distinction between the opinions of Sanders and Warren with the rest of the Democratic Party, including others who spoke at the conference.

"The Democratic Party Platform, adopted unanimously in 2020, made clear that Democrats strongly support the 10-year, $38 billion Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel finalized by [former] President [Barack] Obama and then-Vice President [Joe] Biden in 2016," Soifer wrote in an email. "That is JDCA's position, and it's the position of the Biden White House."

She added that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also spoke at J Street's two-day conference. Soifer said they "expressed support for the ironclad partnership between the two countries which epitomizes how Democrats view the US-Israel relationship."

US Senator Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told JNS in an emailed statement that he rejects conditioning assistance to Israel.

"The US government maintains robust and wide-ranging engagement with the government of Israel, and any and all concerns are shared frankly and honestly and frequently. There is no need or justification for conditioning our assistance."

Similarly, US Representative Elaine Luria, vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said in an emailed statement that putting conditions on aid to Israel would threaten security and US interests in the region.

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"Israel is America's most vital ally in the Middle East. The aid we provide, roughly $3.8 billion each year, is an investment in the national security of both our countries and serves as a strong deterrent in the region," wrote Luria.

"Israel's continued stability and economic strength were critical in securing the historic Abraham Accords, which normalized relations with Israel and several Middle Eastern countries. Conditioning aid to Israel would be a grave mistake and would threaten security and US interests in this volatile region."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org

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The United States "enthusiastically embraces" the working definition of anti-Semitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), the Jewish Insider reported on Monday, quoting a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to American Zionist Movement President Richard Heideman.

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The IHRA working definition defines anti-Semitism as "hatred toward Jews" and lists a multitude of examples of such hatred, including Holocaust denial and "claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor."

It has been criticized by some as limiting freedom of expression and academic freedom, as well as stifling legitimate criticisms of Israel by equating them to anti-Semitism.

In the letter, Blinken stresses the long-running ties between Israel and the US and affirming Washington's commitment to fighting attempts to delegitimize Israel.

Blinken also reiterated the Biden administration's stance in favor of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Blinken said the US was eager "to counter Holocaust distortion and combat anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance abroad while we strengthen our efforts at home," Jewish Insider reported.

This article was first published by i24NEWS. 

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The head of the Arab League expressed hope Monday that the Biden administration will change US President Donald Trump's policies and launch a political process supported by regional and international parties to achieve independence for the Palestinians.

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Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the 22-member organization, told the UN Security Council that a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict "has been marginalized by the main mediator in the peace process," a reference to the United States.

"This encouraged the Israeli government to intensify its settlement activities and to threaten to take dangerous and destructive steps such as annexing occupied land," he said.

The Arab League chief addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a wide-ranging briefing on the crises and conflicts in the Middle East.

He also referred without name to Iran, saying that "some regional powers are interfering in the affairs of the Arab region" by adversely affecting "the security of international maritime navigation routes which are a lifeline for international trade," a reference to freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf.

"It has also become apparent that this interference perpetuates existing conflicts and further complicates them," he said, without directly citing Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, for Yemen's Houthi Shiite rebels and for Hamas.

Aboul Gheit said the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts and crises have created "a dangerous mix that has taken a heavy toll on the peoples of the region," pointing to 10 years of civil war in Syria, Yemen's war entering its seventh year and "entrenched divisions in Libya."

He spoke a day after Israeli authorities advanced plans to build nearly 800 settlement homes in a last-minute surge of approvals before Trump leaves office Wednesday and Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States. Palestinian leaders denounced the Israeli action.

Aboul Gheit said that "significant efforts" need to be made by all parties in coming months to reaffirm the two-state solution.

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"We look forward to the new American administration rectifying policies and processes that are not useful and engage in a fruitful political process with the support of influential regional and international parties," he said. "This would give the Palestinian people renewed hope that the international community would stand by its side in its noble aspiration to achieve freedom and independence."

On Syria, Aboul Gheit said five countries are interfering militarily and the "security situation remains tumultuous and precarious, especially in the northwest, northeast and south." This not only undermines prospects of a political settlement but also has equally serious humanitarian repercussions, with 90% of Syrians living in poverty, he said.

"I am convinced that a genuine solution would start with a minimal level of international consensus, which is still lacking," and would require some regional parties to reduce their involvement in Syria, Aboul Gheit said. "Those regional parties continue to view Syria land as spoils of war or use it to settle scores,.

In Yemen, the Arab League chief said the situation "is as dangerous, especially the humanitarian situation," with some Yemenis on the bring of starvation.

He strongly backed efforts by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths to get agreement between the Houthis and the internationally recognized government on a joint declaration calling for a cease-fire and confidence-building measures. He said the Saudi-negotiated agreement on a new Cabinet "is a positive sign that the fragmentation and division are coming to an end," which "paves the way for negotiations on a comprehensive solution."

As for Libya, Aboul Gheit said recent events "could bring us closer to ending the division in this important Arab country."

After the 2011 overthrow and killing of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, oil-rich Libya was split between rival administrations in its east and west, each backed by an array of militias and foreign powers. The warring sides agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in October, a deal that included the departure of foreign forces and mercenaries within three months and holding presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec. 24, 2021.

Aboul Gheit urged implementation of the cease-fire agreement as well as ending recruitment of foreign fighters and stopping shipments of weapons and military equipment to Libya.

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The Palestinian Authority has sent messages to US President-elect Joe Biden informing him that the PA is willing to resume US-brokered peace talks with Israel from the point at which they broke off in 2016, a senior member of PA President Mahmoud Abbas's staff has told Israel Hayom.

Then-President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abbas with a position paper in favor of continued talks between Israel and the Palestinians. But while Israel said that even though the plan reached by the Obama administration was not to Israel's benefit, it would agree to discuss the proposal, Abbas did not even reply to the president.

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The PA official also said that although Biden and his staff had made indications that the US Embassy in Israel would remain in Jerusalem and the US would keep President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in place, Abbas would ask Biden to revoke American recognition of Jerusalem's status and move the embassy back to Tel Aviv.

Prior to the end of the 2020 presidential election, Abbas advisor Nabil Shaat said that the Palestinians would see "Trump's defeat as a great success for us," and added that the Palestinians would ask Biden to reopen the PLO mission in Washington immediately.

The PA leadership was rejoicing on Saturday when the election was called for Biden. However, more and more senior PA officials are saying that while Biden's victory will help Abbas "out of the corner into which he backed himself" when he decided to boycott the Trump administration, the Palestinians would find it difficult to refuse Biden's request that they come back to the negotiating table.

Another senior advisor to Abbas told Israel Hayom that "Biden is known for his affection for Israel, and his pro-Zionist stances. He has said a number of times that he is a Zionist and has had friendly relations with Netanyahu for over 30 years."

According to this advisor, "Biden was also Obama's vice president when Abbas didn't bother to respond to the proposal that Obama sent to both sides to new negotiations before the end of his second term, and Biden was the one who tried to reconcile between the rais [president] and Obama, who was very offended when Abbas ignored him."

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He added: "We won't be able to turn Biden down easily, as we could Trump, and that could turn out to be a double-edged sword. Obama was the most pro-Palestinian president and it's hard for me to picture Biden adopting a similar policy in light of his declarations that he will not move the US Embassy back to Tel Aviv and not cancel the Trump administration's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."

Meanwhile, prior to the announcement of Biden's victory on Saturday, Abbas said he would announce that the PA would be restarting security cooperation with Israel and the US if he won, the London-based independent Arabic news site Elaph reported.

The PA announced in May that it was stopped security coordination and cooperation.

Elaph quoted a senior PA official, who said that Abbas was planning a major speech after the US election results were announced. The official said that Abbas planned to congratulate Biden and announce his willingness to resume work with the American administration immediately and go back to peace talks with Israel anchored in the two-state solution.

The report also said that Abbas planned to announce he would once again be accepting the tax money Israel collects on behalf of the PA, which he spurned after Israel deducted an amount equivalent to what the PA pays out to terrorists and their families. In August, given the dire economic situation in the PA, Abbas agreed to accept half the money Israel was holding.

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