Trump’s Gulf Visit Prioritizes Trillions Over Gaza Peace Amid Mounting War Crimes

Watan-Before embarking on his first official foreign trip, President Trump set ambitious goals, notably unveiling a plan to end the war in Gaza, alleviate Palestinian suffering, enable a prisoner exchange, and facilitate urgent humanitarian aid. In reality, however, he largely ignored humanitarian issues. His vision for Gaza remains contradictory—oscillating between displacing its population and turning it into a Mediterranean resort, or leaving its people to live among the rubble.

Trump unilaterally ended the war on the Houthis in Yemen via Omani mediation, aiding Red Sea de-escalation and aligning with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Meanwhile, he left Israel to face ongoing Houthi attacks, particularly during his Gulf tour—while Israel simultaneously escalated its war on Gaza.

Trump pre-empted his trip with an announcement of indirect Omani-mediated negotiations with Iran, with four rounds completed and a fifth pending—despite opposition from Netanyahu’s far-right government, which favors confrontation and destroying Iran’s nuclear program in a Libya-style scenario.

Unlike his 2017 visit, Trump deliberately excluded Israel from his current Gulf itinerary and regional security talks. An Israeli official remarked that Trump’s snub reflects a decline in Israel’s status within his administration’s priorities—despite his consistent rhetorical support for Israel’s security, a position long held by all U.S. presidents, Democrat or Republican, since the Nakba.

While Trump has sidelined Netanyahu personally and excluded him from major regional files, he continues to align with Israel’s stance on the Palestinian issue and the broader Arab-Israeli conflict. His Gulf visit from May 13–16 focused on economic deals and geopolitical gains, prioritizing U.S. financial interests over humanitarian and political crises—particularly Gaza’s catastrophe—without applying pressure on Israel or advancing a peace strategy.

Contrary to expectations, Trump did not pressure Netanyahu to end what many call the genocide in Gaza or to allow humanitarian aid, despite soaring death tolls exceeding 100 per day during Trump’s visit, amid famine and disease.

Though Trump described the war as “brutal and stupid” and acknowledged Palestinian suffering, he failed to present or enforce a plan to stop the war. In speeches across Saudi Arabia, the U.S.-Gulf summit, and at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, he vaguely stated: “I want Gaza to be a free zone. I have great ideas so people can return to their homes.”

He added, “The buildings are destroyed, people live under collapsed ruins. It’s unacceptable… We are working hard on Gaza, which has been a land of death and destruction for years.” He promised “good news next month”—but failed to announce a concrete peace plan, despite calls from Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad for Trump to use his influence to end the war.

Trump left Abu Dhabi Friday afternoon without offering a roadmap or holding Netanyahu accountable—just before the “34th Arab Summit” in Baghdad, which also called for an end to the war, with no impact. As Netanyahu expanded the war under “Chariots of Gideon,” pushing for total occupation of Gaza and mass displacement to the south, Trump and Secretary of State Rubio merely expressed “concern,” without condemnation or pressure—despite Trump’s admission that “people are starving in Gaza.”

Rubio commented after meeting Netanyahu: “We feel the pain of Gaza’s people. We’re disturbed by the humanitarian situation… No humanitarian aid has been delivered since March 2.” Trump’s claim that “good things will happen next month” contrasts starkly with his missed opportunity to stop Gaza’s destruction as he once promised.

Trump’s Gulf tour achievements were mostly economic: multibillion-dollar deals in energy, defense, tech, and AI. Humanitarian concerns were absent. Agreements included:

• $142 billion in defense deals with Saudi Arabia (part of $600 billion total)

• $200 billion aircraft deals with Qatar + Al Udeid expansion

• $243 billion in total deals with Qatar

• $1.4 trillion UAE investments in AI and tech

• Over $3 trillion in long-term Gulf investments overall

As for shortcomings: no clear regional security strategy emerged, nor a defined policy toward Iran—despite Tehran’s offer to reduce uranium enrichment as a trust-building step. Iran rejected dismantling its nuclear program, while Netanyahu insisted on it. Trump sympathized with Saudi Arabia’s refusal to join the Abraham Accords before ending the war and establishing a Palestinian state.

The picture is clear: Trump is a transactional leader—focused on trillion-dollar investments to sell back home—not a statesman with a strategic vision.