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Arab World

Trump's Gaza Plan Not in Line with Muslim Countries' Proposal, Says Pakistan

Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
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Trump's Gaza Plan Not in Line with Muslim Countries' Proposal, Says Pakistan

Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

The 20 points that US President Donald Trump announced this week under his plan to end the war in Gaza were not in line with a draft presented to him by a group of Muslim-majority countries, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday.

The group had proposed a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza during a September 22 meeting with Trump, whereas his plan envisages a partial Israeli pullback to prepare for a release of remaining hostages held by Palestinian Hamas militants.

"I have made it clear that these 20 points which Trump has made public are ... not the same as ours. I say that some changes have been made in it, in the draft we had," Dar said in remarks to Pakistani lawmakers, Reuters reported.

PLAN TO END WAR BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HAMAS MILITANTS

Trump on Monday published a 20-point blueprint for ending the war between Israel and Hamas under which all hostages, living and dead, would be returned within 72 hours of a ceasefire. It refers to a redeveloped "New Gaza" in future.

The plan leaves many details for negotiators to hash out and hinges on acceptance by Hamas.
Israel's subsequent war following October 7 attack has killed over 66,000 Palestinians and widely demolished the small enclave, according to Gaza health authorities.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had earlier welcomed Trump's plan. Sharif while in transit had given a general response to Trump's broader social media post, Dar said.

The Trump administration wants Arab and Muslim countries to agree to send military forces to Gaza to enable Israel's withdrawal and to secure funding for transition and rebuilding programs, Axios reported.

MUSLIM NATIONS PROPOSED FULL ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL

Dar said the eight nations received a commitment from Trump that he would not allow an Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, which far-right allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his governing coalition have called for.

A consensus draft prepared by the Muslim countries asked for a "full Israeli withdrawal" and "a path for a just peace on the basis of the two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Dar said, reading from a copy of their proposal.

The creation of a Palestinian state co-existing with Israel is Pakistani policy, he said. Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out Palestinian statehood, saying this would endanger Israel.

The Trump plan said all military operations would be suspended and battle lines frozen in Gaza until conditions were met for a "complete staged withdrawal" of Israeli forces.

Hamas would have to disarm under Trump's plan and on Tuesday he gave the Islamist group three to four days to accept it.

The plan envisages a "Board of Peace" of international overseers led by Trump himself and including former British prime minister Tony Blair in an undefined role.

Gaza would get a temporary, transitional government consisting of a "technocratic, apolitical" committee made up of Palestinians and international experts.

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Arab World

Al-Sharaa: Israel’s Push for a Buffer Zone in Southern Syria Puts the Region at Risk

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 
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Al-Sharaa: Israel’s Push for a Buffer Zone in Southern Syria Puts the Region at Risk

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa speaks during the 23rd annual Doha Forum (Reuters). 

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa warned on Saturday that Israel’s effort to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in southern Syria risks pushing the country into a “dangerous place.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the Doha Forum, al-Sharaa said US-mediated negotiations with Israel remain underway to address the “security concerns” of both sides.

Following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military positions, saying its goal is to prevent the new authorities from seizing the former army’s weapons arsenal.

Over the past year, Israel has repeatedly publicized ground operations and arrests of individuals it accuses of “terrorist” activity in southern Syria. Israeli forces have also entered the Golan Heights disengagement zone established under the 1974 cease-fire agreement.

Al-Sharaa said all major international actors back Syria “in its demand that Israel withdraw and reposition to the lines of Dec. 8.” He emphasized that Damascus insists on full respect for the 1974 accord, describing it as a durable, internationally supported agreement.

“Tampering with this agreement, while proposing alternatives such as a new buffer zone, could drive us into dangerous territory,” he said.

Al-Sharaa accused Israel of “fighting ghosts” and “searching for enemies” in the wake of the Gaza war, adding that since assuming office a year ago he has sent “positive messages about peace and regional stability.”

Thirteen people were killed in late November during an Israeli incursion into the southern town of Beit Jin, a raid Damascus denounced as a “war crime.” Israel said the operation targeted suspects linked to the ISIS group.

Though Syria and Israel maintain no diplomatic relations and remain technically at war, several US-brokered ministerial meetings have been held in recent months.

“Negotiations are ongoing, and the United States is fully engaged,” al-Sharaa said, noting broad international support for addressing “legitimate security concerns so both sides can feel secure.”

He asked: “Syria is the one under attack, so who should be demanding a buffer zone and withdrawal?”

In September, al-Sharaa warned in New York of the risk of renewed Middle East instability if Damascus and Tel Aviv fail to reach a security arrangement, accusing Israel of “delaying negotiations and continuing to violate our airspace and territory.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli forces deployed in the buffer zone outside the occupied Golan Heights in November, a move Damascus condemned as “illegitimate.”

Domestically, al-Sharaa said all segments of Syrian society are now represented in government “on the basis of competence, not sectarian quotas.” Syria, he said, is charting a “new path” for post-conflict governance. He acknowledged the country inherited “deep problems” from the former regime and said investigative bodies are working to address alleged crimes in the coastal region and Sweida.

He stressed that Syria is “a state of law, not a collection of sects,” and that accountability and institutional reform are essential to rebuilding the state.

The Syrian president added that economic revitalization is crucial for lasting stability, which is why Damascus continues to argue for the lifting of the Caesar Act sanctions.

 

 

Arab World

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights
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Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Arab Parliament Backs UNRWA Mandate Renewal, Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Rights

Speaker of the Arab Parliament Mohamed Alyammahi welcomed the UN General Assembly’s decision to renew the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for another three years, saying the vote reflects broad international support for Palestinian rights and a clear rejection of efforts to undermine their cause.

Alyammahi stressed that the mandate’s renewal is particularly critical amid the continued aggression and blockade facing Palestinians, ensuring the agency can maintain its essential services. He noted the strong backing for related resolutions calling for an end to the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The speaker urged leveraging this growing international consensus to halt the assault on Gaza, facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, intensify legal and diplomatic action against the occupation, and advance a credible political process that can help ease the suffering of the Palestinian people.

Arab World

Israeli Soldiers Kill 55-Year-Old Palestinian and Teenager in West Bank

28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)
28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)
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Israeli Soldiers Kill 55-Year-Old Palestinian and Teenager in West Bank

28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)
28 November 2025, Palestinian Territories, Hebron: Israeli forces block Palestinian farmers trying to access to their agricultural fields in the town of Tarqumiyah. (dpa)

Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian teenager who was driving a car towards them as well as a Palestinian bystander in the West Bank on Saturday, according to an Israeli security official.

The military said that an "uninvolved person" was hit in addition to the driver of the car who had "accelerated" towards soldiers at a checkpoint in West Bank city of Hebron.

In an earlier statement, the military said two "terrorists" were killed, before later clarifying that only one person was involved.

An Israeli security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a 17-year-old was driving the car and a 55-year-old was the bystander.

Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported that 55-year-old Ziad Naim Abu Dawood, a municipal street cleaner, was killed while working. It said another Palestinian was killed but did not report the circumstances that led the soldiers to open fire.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the second Palestinian as 17-year-old Ahmed Khalil Al-Rajabi.

The military did not report any injuries to the soldiers.

The motive for the 17-year-old's actions was not immediately clear, and no armed group claimed responsibility.

Since January, 51 Palestinian minors, aged under 18, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Violence has surged this year in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians have risen sharply, while the military has tightened movement restrictions and carried out sweeping raids in several cities.

Palestinians have also carried out attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians, some of them deadly.