Eight nations condemn Israel's rejection of Trump's Gaza peace plan
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and six other countries issued a joint statement on Sunday condemning Israel's rejection of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. The move follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's earlier refusal to withdraw troops until Hamas is fully disarmed.
The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt released a joint statement on Sunday sharply criticizing Israel's stance on Trump's 15-point plan to end the war in Gaza.
The statement came a week after Netanyahu said Israeli forces would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is "genuinely" disarmed. Trump's Board of Peace had announced last month that a deal had been reached for the full disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in the territory.
In their statement, the ministers said rejecting the road map amounts to an outright refusal to implement the broader plan and directly threatens Trump's efforts to end the war and secure lasting peace. They said the rejection places responsibility on Israel for obstructing peace efforts in Gaza and the wider occupied Palestinian territories.
The statement was released while ceasefire-related talks were taking place in Egypt. Trump's envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Board of Peace envoy for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov attended the talks, meeting with mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey as well as Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
A Hamas delegation led by the group's leader, Khalil al-Hayya, also took part in the Cairo talks. In late July, Hamas avoided the term "disarmament" but said it would hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian governing body that would operate under the Board of Peace's supervision.
Under Trump's plan, Israeli troops would withdraw as Hamas disarms, with an international stabilization force and a newly formed Palestinian police force then taking over security in Gaza.
Netanyahu previously said Israel remains in talks with Washington despite objecting to parts of the plan. The eight foreign ministers called on the Board of Peace and the United States to take immediate action to safeguard the plan's implementation and prevent any party from derailing it.
