US President Donald Trump is preparing to announce a Gaza ceasefire proposal, after he presented a 21-point plan to Arab leaders at the UN this week, US officials said on Wednesday.
Mr Trump plans to unveil the proposal in co-ordination with Sheikh Tamim, Emir of Qatar, one official told The National.
The plan involves a permanent ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages at once, the US President's two main priorities. It also includes a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, and amnesty for Hamas officials if they agree to leave the coastal enclave.
The official said special envoy Steve Witkoff had presented the proposal to Arab leaders and other heads of state on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
“It was very fruitful and productive,” the official said. “The impression was quite positive, there were many head nods.”
Mr Witkoff later said Mr Trump had presented a 21-point plan to Arab officials and other heads of state in New York. He said he believes the US administration is able to announce a breakthrough in the coming days.
“The meeting was great,” Mr Witkoff told a panel discussion with other US envoys Tom Barrack and Morgan Ortagus.
The plan "addresses Israeli concerns and as well as the concerns of the neighbours in the region, and we're hopeful", he said. “I might say, even confident that in the coming days we'll be able to announce some sort of breakthrough.”
Before the session with Arab leaders, Mr Trump the talks would be “my most important meeting”, and that those taking part were “the ones that can do it”.
The proposal also includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops and the dismantling of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The US official said the UN and other international relief organisations would be charged with the distribution of food aid.
The decision to make the announcement alongside Sheikh Tamim was a conciliatory gesture after Israel bombed a residential compound that housed senior Hamas leaders in Doha this month, the official said. Washington claims it did not know about the strike until it had already been launched.
Qatar, a US ally and home to the largest American military base in the Middle East, has been a key mediator in the Gaza ceasefire talks, along with the US and Egypt.
The official said the plan also contains “ideas” for Gaza's postwar reconstruction and future administration, but did not go into detail.
It also explicitly refers to a “guarantee” by Mr Trump that he would pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to annex the occupied West Bank. Mr Netanyahu has previously resisted calls for an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
The development comes as the war in Gaza, which started with a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, approaches the two-year mark.
Tuesday's meeting with Mr Trump was attended by the leaders of Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Egypt, as well as Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Co-operation said they had emphasised the need to end the war, reach an immediate ceasefire, release the hostages and allow the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid "as the first step toward a just and lasting peace".
"They emphasised the need to work out details of a plan for stabilisation, while ensuring stability in the West Bank and Jerusalem’s Holy Sites," the statement read. "They supported Palestinian Authority reform efforts."
The participants also emphasised 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.
Mohamad Ali Harisi contributed to this report from New York.
