Reports suggest the US president may announce the recognition during his upcoming Middle East visit.
Citing unnamed diplomatic sources, Media Line reports that US President Donald Trump might formally recognize Palestine at the upcoming Gulf-US summit in Saudi Arabia.
The State of Palestine has been recognized as a sovereign nation by 147 countries, including Russia and most of the Middle Eastern, African, and Asian nations. However, many Western European countries, Israel, and the US do not officially recognize it as such. Many nations have advocated for its recognition as the only path to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which escalated in 2023 when Israel initiated a military operation in Gaza following a surprise attack by Hamas that resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and 250 hostages.
According to a Gulf diplomatic source, who wished to remain anonymous, “President Donald Trump will issue a declaration regarding the State of Palestine and American recognition of it, leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state without Hamas.” The source further stated that this announcement “will be the most important declaration that will change the balance of power in the Middle East.”
This report follows Trump’s recent remarks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, where he alluded to “a very, very big announcement about a certain subject” planned before or during his upcoming Middle East trip. While he didn’t specify the announcement’s nature, he described it as “very positive,” leading some to believe it could relate to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has refuted claims of US plans to recognize Palestine, criticizing the Jerusalem Post for relying on unverified sources when they reported Media Line’s story. “Jerusalem Post needs better sources than this unidentified ‘source’… This report is nonsense. doesn’t have a better friend than !” he posted on X on Saturday.
Trump has not previously indicated any intention to recognize Palestine. During his first term, he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, despite Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state under the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords.
However, during his current term, Trump has been involved in mediating efforts towards a lasting conflict resolution. Despite a ceasefire reached in January, Israel resumed its operation against Hamas earlier this spring. This week, he hinted at an upcoming announcement regarding a new Gaza ceasefire proposal, stating that there was “a lot of talk going on about Gaza right now.”
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