UAE pushing Netanyahu to take Trump’s Gaza deal proposal, source says

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — The UAE is pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace proposal at their meeting today and to abandon any plan to annex the West Bank, a delegate with knowledge of the matter tells Reuters.

The United Arab Emirates, the most prominent Arab country to normalize ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, warned Netanyahu that annexation would shut the door to further Israeli normalization with leading Arab and Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, the delegate adds.

Netanyahu faces pressure to annex the West Bank from far-right politicians who want to extend sovereignty over the area and snuff out hopes for a Palestinian state.

A senior Israeli official has said that Netanyahu will give Israel’s response to Trump’s Gaza peace proposal at his meeting with the US leader today. Netanyahu was greeted by Trump outside the White House doors with a handshake.

The UAE position on Trump’s Gaza peace plan was communicated to Netanyahu by its foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, in a meeting with the Israeli leader on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday, the delegate says.

The contents of Sheikh Abdullah’s remarks to Netanyahu at the meeting have not previously been reported.

In Jerusalem, there is no immediate response from Netanyahu’s office to a request for comment.