Trump to Discuss Regional Settlement with Abbas, Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to White House in Washington, May 3, 2017. (REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to White House in Washington, May 3, 2017. (REUTERS)
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Trump to Discuss Regional Settlement with Abbas, Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to White House in Washington, May 3, 2017. (REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to White House in Washington, May 3, 2017. (REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session this month to discuss a possible regional settlement, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.

The meetings are expected to take place between September 17 and 19, as the US president wants to hear directly from Netanyahu and Abbas about a possible settlement through a regional deal, according to the officials.

Palestinians have anticipated the possible meeting, by voicing their opposition to any other alternatives to the two-state solution. A Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat that a regional settlement would be rejected.

Abbas had met with Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law, at the head of an American delegation that visited the region last month. The two officials agreed to take more time to formulate a plan of action.

“We will not accept to be deceived. The establishment of a Palestinian state is the only solution, and it must precede any Arab-Israeli normalization of relations,” a senior official told Asharq Al-Awsat.

A diplomatic source at the White House said that Trump would meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session with many leaders, heads of state and heads of government from around the world, including Abbas and Netanyahu.

The Haaretz Israeli newspaper said that Trump was determined to activate the negotiations in an effort to reach a settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority within the framework of a regional deal.

According to the daily, recommendations and guidelines issued by Trump a few weeks ago to his team of advisors overseeing the negotiations, notably Kushner, US special envoy to the Middle East Jason Greenblatt and Washington’s ambassador to Israel David Friedman, included the need to reach a settlement within a regional deal.

The US president will discuss with Netanyahu specifically other issues, such as the Iranian nuclear deal and the settlement in Syria. But a Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat that a regional settlement would be rejected.

According to the source, Abbas has stressed to the American delegation his rejection to such settlement and insisted on a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority lashed out at Friedman for his remarks describing the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as “the alleged occupation.”

Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, secretary of the PLO Executive Committee, said in a letter sent to diplomats working in Palestine: “Friedman’s remarks are unacceptable,” underlining Israel’s ongoing violations against the Palestinian people and their land.



France Cools Expectations of Swift Palestinian State Recognition

 France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
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France Cools Expectations of Swift Palestinian State Recognition

 France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech during the inauguration of the Choiseul Library as the first site labeled "Heritage of Diplomacy" ("Patrimoine de la Diplomacie") in Versailles, near Paris on June 5, 2025. (AFP)

France on Friday dampened expectations Paris could rapidly recognize a Palestinian state, with the French foreign minister saying while it was "determined" to make such a move, recognition had to be more than "symbolic".

France is due later this month to co-host with Saudi Arabia a UN conference in New York on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

There had been expectations that France could recognize a Palestinian state during that conference, with President Emmanuel Macron also growing increasingly frustrated with Israel's blocking of aid to the Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

"France could have taken a symbolic decision. But this is not the choice we made because we have a particular responsibility" as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said, while saying Paris was still "determined" to make the move.

Several EU countries including Ireland, Spain and Sweden recognize a Palestinian state. But Germany, while backing a two-state solution, has said recognition now would send the "wrong signal".

France is reportedly working closely on the issue with the United Kingdom, which also so far has not recognized a Palestinian state, at a time when French-British diplomatic ties are becoming increasingly tight after Brexit.

Macron on Thursday said that he expected the conference in New York would take steps "towards recognizing Palestine", without being more specific.

He has said he hopes French recognition of a Palestinian state would encourage other governments to do the same and that countries who do not recognize Israel should do so.

Barrot meanwhile also stressed the "absolute necessity" to address the issue of the disarmament of Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 32 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive in Hamas-run Gaza has killed 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry there, figures the United Nations deems reliable.

Relations between Israel and France have deteriorated over the last weeks, with Israel's foreign ministry accusing Macron of undertaking a "crusade against the Jewish state" after he called on European countries to harden their stance if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.