Trump Praises Abbas, Considers him Willing to Make Peace

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on May 23, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on May 23, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)
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Trump Praises Abbas, Considers him Willing to Make Peace

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on May 23, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on May 23, 2017. (Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)

After lashing out at Benjamin Netanyahu and accusing him of disloyalty, ex-US President Donald Trump spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in newly released interview excerpts Saturday, accusing the former Israeli leader of obstructing peace.

In the latest comments broadcast by Israel’s Channel 12, Trump said he believed Netanyahu “did not want to make peace. Never did.”

The former US President said that when Netanyahu stated at the Bar-Ilan University his support for a two-state solution, he was not serious.

“Bibi did not want to make a deal,” Trump said, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “Even most recently, when we came up with the maps” as part of his administration’s peace plan, Netanyahu’s reaction was “‘Oh this is good, good,’ everything was always great, but he was never… he did not want to make a deal.”

“Now I don’t know if Netanyahu didn’t want to make it for political reasons, or for other reasons. I wish he would have said he didn’t want to make a deal, instead of…. Because a lot of people devoted a lot of work. But I don’t think Bibi would have ever made a deal. That’s my opinion. I think the general [Defense Minister Benny Gantz] wanted to make a deal.”

Here, before starting to praise Gantz, Trump surprised his Israeli interviewers by praising Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

“He wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu. And I will be honest, I had a great meeting with him, Abbas, right. I had a great meeting with him. And we spent a lot of time together, talking about many things. And it was almost like a father. I mean, he was so nice, couldn’t have been nicer.”

Trump recalled he then told Netanyahu that “I had a very good meeting with Abbas. We can definitely do a deal.”

And when asked about the Israeli leader’s response, he said, “‘Well, let’s think about it. Let’s not move too fast, you know.’ After he started talking, I said, wait a minute, you don’t want to make a deal. And he said, ‘Well, uh, uh, uh.’ And the fact is I don’t think Bibi ever wanted to make a deal.”

The former US President said he had thought the Palestinians were impossible, and the Israelis would do anything to make peace and a deal, but later found that not to be true.

Later, Trump offered his favorable opinion on Gantz, saying he wanted to make a deal.

“I really like him a lot. I thought he was great. He came to the White House. He was someone that, in my opinion, it would have been much easier to make a deal with the Palestinians… The Palestinians hate Netanyahu. They hate him with a passion. They did not hate Gantz. They didn’t hate him.”



Arab Ministers Finalize Gaza Reconstruction Plan Ahead of Cairo Summit

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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Arab Ministers Finalize Gaza Reconstruction Plan Ahead of Cairo Summit

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (unssen) at the Al Tahrir palace to discuss details of the Gaza reconstruction plan, ahead of emergency Arab summit organized by Egypt this week, in Cairo, Egypt March 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Arab foreign ministers held on Monday a preparatory meeting in Cairo to finalize an “Arab plan” for Gaza’s reconstruction without displacing its Palestinian population.

The plan for Gaza, drawn up by Egypt, would be presented to Arab leaders at Tuesday's extraordinary Arab League summit as a counter to US President Donald Trump’s plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” while forcing its Palestinian residents to relocate to Egypt and Jordan.

Arab foreign ministers met behind closed doors in Cairo ahead of the extraordinary Arab League summit, which is expected to come out with one Arab position against the displacement of Palestinians, while adopting a plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt’s plan would sideline Hamas and replace it with interim bodies controlled by Arab, Muslim and Western states, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

The Egyptian vision for Gaza does not specify whether the proposal would be implemented before or after any permanent peace deal to end the war triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Cairo's plan does not tackle critical issues such as who will foot the bill for Gaza's reconstruction or outline any specific details around how Gaza would be governed, nor how an armed group as powerful as Hamas would be pushed aside.

Under the Egyptian plan, a Governance Assistance Mission would replace the Hamas-run government in Gaza for an unspecified interim period and would be responsible for humanitarian aid and for kick-starting reconstruction of the enclave, which has been devastated by the war.

Last Saturday, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said his country will train the Palestinian Police forces to be deployed in Gaza as part of the reconstruction plan.

Furthermore, Abdelatty highlighted Egypt's alignment with the Palestinian Authority on security and governance arrangements in Gaza.

Bilateral meetings

Abdelatty held bilateral meetings with a number of his Arab counterparts ahead of the Cairo summit.

He discussed with Palestinian Foreign Minister Mohammad Mustafa preparations for the summit, which will tackle the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip, efforts to consolidate the ceasefire agreement and underscoring the resolute Arab stance towards the Palestinian issue.

Abdelatty also met with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi.

They categorically rejected the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland and stressed the importance of regional and international solidarity to ensure the implementation of all stages of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza as a first step towards setting a clear political path aimed at reaching a radical and final settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state according to relevant international agreements and resolutions.

He also held separate meetings with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, Yemeni FM Shaya Zindani, Tunisian FM Mohamed Ali Nafti and Mauritanian FM Mohamed Salem Ould Merzoug.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Cairo on Monday to participate in the ministerial-level preparatory session.

Algeria and Tunisia’s presidents will not take part in the summit. Instead, the two countries will be represented by their foreign ministers.