Saudis to lobby Trump to back Palestinian state, end to Gaza war – report

Riyadh is reportedly planning to lobby President Donald Trump during the upcoming summit in Saudi Arabia to back a broad deal for the Middle East that would include Palestinian statehood, expanded Arab recognition of Israel, and the end of the war in Gaza.

By World Israel News Staff

Saudi Arabia is preparing to present its wide-reaching Middle East peace plan, which includes the formation of a Palestinian state, to President Donald Trump during his visit to Riyadh this week, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported on Monday.

Trump is slated to arrive in Riyadh on Tuesday, remaining in the Saudi capital city through Wednesday.

The president will attend a regional summit hosted by the Saudi government, featuring delegations from Gulf countries including Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.

Unconfirmed reports say that the summit will also include the presidents of Syria and Lebanon, as well as Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

According to the Kan report, which cited a member of the Saudi royal family, the Saudi government is planning on taking advantage of Trump’s presence in the country to present to him its Middle East peace plan, which includes an end to the war in the Gaza Strip, the dismantling of the Hamas terror organization, the formation of a demilitarized Palestinian state, and an expansion of the Abraham Accords with broad Arab recognition of Israel.

Saudi leaders are said to be planning to lobby Trump to adopt the plan and use his influence to bring Israel on board, with the source cited by the report calling the proposal an important opportunity for the Jewish state to achieve normalization with much of the Arab world.

Last week, reports citing Arab officials claimed that the president is poised to announce support for Palestinian statehood during this week’s Riyadh summit.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee denied the reports over the weekend, calling the claim “nonsense.”