U.S. President Donald Trump and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani hosted a meeting of the leaders of Türkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, U.A.E., and Jordan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23. The meeting addressed the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
Among the leaders was Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who described the meeting as “very productive and positive,” Hurriyet Daily News reports. “We have just concluded a very, very productive and positive meeting. I’m satisfied—may the outcome be beneficial,” Erdoğan told reporters outside the Turkevi Center in New York City.
Asked if the summit could yield concrete steps toward peace and protecting civilians, Erdoğan indicated that a joint declaration would be issued soon. “The final declaration will likely be announced shortly. With statements from Trump and Tamim [Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani], the outcome of tonight’s meeting will be made clear,” he said.
On exiting the meeting, Trump told reporters, “It was a very successful meeting with all of the big players, except for Israel, but that’s going to be next, and I think we can work something out on Gaza, but it was a very good meeting with great leaders.”
The leaders of the Arab League-Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries who participated in the meeting issued their own joint statement, however, published today by the Saudi Press Agency, reporting on what their message to President Trump had been at the meeting, including thanking him for holding it.
The leaders reported that they had “highlighted the unbearable situation in the Gaza Strip, including the humanitarian catastrophe and high human toll, as well as its serious consequences for the region and impact on the Muslim world as a whole,” and reiterated that they all reject forced-displacement, and that those who have left must be allowed to return.
“The leaders emphasized the need to end the war and achieve an immediate ceasefire that would ensure releasing the hostages and allowing the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid as the first step toward a just and lasting peace,” and stressed to him “the importance of his leadership to end the war and open horizons for a just and lasting peace,” the statement reports.
Their perspective for how to proceed for peace left little room for the plans for an ethnically-cleansed “Gaza Riviera” ruled by anybody-but-Palestinians which are being mooted, pointing instead to the Gaza reconstruction plan, drawn up by Egypt, which the Arab League and OIC had endorsed last March. The statement reports:
“The leaders emphasized the need to work out details of a plan for stabilization, while ensuring stability in the West Bank and Jerusalem’s holy sites, and supported Palestinian Authority reform efforts. Participants emphasized the need to ensure a comprehensive plan for reconstruction in Gaza, based on the Arab and OIC plan, as well as security arrangements, with international assistance supporting the Palestinian leadership, and expressed commitment to work together to ensure the success of plans and to rebuild the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.”
The group also stressed to Trump “the importance of maintaining momentum to ensure that this meeting is the beginning of a process on the right path to a future of peace and regional cooperation.”
