President Donald Trump’s Mideast visit is being framed by the White House as an opportunity to write a new and ambitious chapter for the Abraham Accords. The administration is signaling its intent to move beyond the immediate Gaza crisis and revitalize its signature first-term foreign policy achievement by bringing more Arab and Muslim nations into a formal peace with Israel.
The original accords, which forged diplomatic and commercial ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, were a historic breakthrough. The Trump administration is now looking to build on that foundation, and its primary targets are Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, two of the most influential countries in the Muslim world.
According to a senior administration official, the key to unlocking this new chapter is achieving a permanent settlement in Gaza. The logic is that a stable and peaceful resolution to the conflict would provide the necessary political cover for leaders in Riyadh and Jakarta to take the politically sensitive step of normalizing relations with Israel.
Trump’s summit in Egypt is a crucial part of this strategy. By bringing together a wide range of regional leaders to discuss Gaza’s future, he aims to create a new atmosphere of cooperation and shared purpose. This, he hopes, will make the prospect of joining the Abraham Accords more attractive.
However, significant hurdles remain, particularly the long-standing demand from Saudi Arabia for progress on Palestinian statehood. Trump is betting that the strategic benefits of a formal alliance with Israel, especially in countering Iran, combined with the prospect of a stable region, will be enough to overcome these old obstacles and begin a new chapter of peace.