US President Donald Trump has been handed a political defeat that could become the beginning of his greatest historical achievement. The American midterm elections have fundamentally changed the political landscape in Washington. With Democrats taking control of both houses of Congress, Trump's ability to advance his domestic legislative agenda will be constrained for the remaining two years of his presidency. He will face congressional investigations, political confrontations, and legislative deadlock.
But there is one arena in which the president retains extraordinary power to act: foreign policy. And there is one opportunity greater than all the others: making peace in the Middle East.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to be remembered as the president who ends wars and makes deals that others could not make. His first administration produced the Abraham Accords, a genuine diplomatic achievement that established new relationships between Israel and several Arab states.
But those agreements, important as they were, left the central conflict of the Middle East unresolved. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continued, eventually exploding into the catastrophe that began on October 7, 2023, and devastated both peoples.
Now Trump has an opportunity to complete what he began. Abraham Accords 2.0 should not simply mean adding Saudi Arabia to the list of countries normalizing relations with Israel. It should mean creating an entirely new regional architecture of peace, security, economic cooperation, and political transformation, including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state living in peace and security alongside Israel. This could fundamentally change the Middle East for generations.
Changing the Middle East for generations
In Israel, the elections have created the possibility of replacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government with a new coalition led by Gadi Eisenkot. The Israeli electorate has opened a door. The question is whether Israel's political leadership will walk through it.
Replacing Netanyahu is not enough. A new Israeli government cannot simply offer the same policies of managing the conflict, expanding settlements, and avoiding a political decision about the Palestinians, only with different personalities and more moderate language. That would be a historic mistake.
Eisenkot and his potential coalition partners must be challenged by Washington to define where they intend to lead Israel. Security cannot be a substitute for political vision. Israel will never have security until Palestinians have freedom, and Palestinians will never have freedom until Israel has security. These are not competing objectives. They are inseparable.
Trump should make clear to the incoming Israeli government that American support comes with an expectation of political leadership. Israel must be prepared to enter a new political process, stop settlement expansion, confront Jewish terrorism in the West Bank, and recognize that Palestinian self-determination is an essential component of Israel's long-term security and regional integration.
There is an equally urgent challenge on the Palestinian side. Palestinians have not elected a president since January 2005 or a Palestinian Legislative Council since January 2006. An entire generation has grown up without the opportunity to choose its national leadership. Palestinian politics has become increasingly disconnected from the Palestinian people, while the absence of democratic accountability has contributed to corruption, disillusionment, and the erosion of political legitimacy.
The United States, together with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and the European Union, should insist that free and fair Palestinian presidential and legislative elections be held as soon as possible in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Gaza. These elections are not merely a matter of democratic procedure. They are an essential part of building peace.
For the first time in two decades, Palestinians could have the opportunity to choose new leadership, new political parties, and a new national direction. They could elect representatives committed to ending the occupation through diplomacy, building democratic institutions, confronting corruption, and creating a Palestinian state that lives in peace alongside Israel and participates in a new regional alliance.
That choice must belong to Palestinians themselves. Neither Washington nor Jerusalem should decide who their leaders will be. The role of the international community is to guarantee that the elections are credible, inclusive, transparent, and secure, and that the results are respected.
This is also the opportunity to establish a clear principle for the future Palestinian state: one legitimate government, one law, and one security authority. Armed political factions cannot maintain independent armies outside the control of an elected civilian government. The future of Gaza must be based on legitimate Palestinian governance, reconstruction, security reform, and integration with the West Bank, not the continuation of Hamas's armed rule or indefinite Israeli military control.
The real transformation will occur when Israelis and Palestinians can both see that their future is not condemned to permanent confrontation.
This is where Saudi Arabia becomes central. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has the regional influence, economic resources, and strategic vision to help build a new Middle East. Saudi-Israeli normalization would be a historic breakthrough, but it cannot be achieved sustainably by treating the Palestinians as an obstacle to bypass. Palestinian freedom and statehood must be part of the architecture of regional peace, not an issue postponed until some undefined future.
Israel and an independent Palestine living side by side in peace and mutual recognition. Saudi Arabia and Israel establishing full diplomatic relations. An American-supported regional security framework joining Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, and other willing states in confronting shared threats. A massive international investment initiative rebuilding Gaza and developing the Palestinian economy, with regional investment creating jobs and opportunities throughout the Middle East.
At the center of this transformation could be the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), connecting India through the Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and onward to Europe. Railways, ports, energy grids, digital infrastructure, advanced technologies, and new trade routes could transform a region long identified with war into one of the world's most important centers of economic connectivity.
Palestine could be integrated into this vision from the beginning. The new regional economy cannot be built on the permanent exclusion of millions of Palestinians.
Such a regional architecture would also serve America's strategic interests. It would strengthen Washington's relationships with its traditional allies, reinforce American economic leadership, and offer a strategic alternative to the growing influence of China and other powers. It would provide the basis for a durable regional order that relies less on American military interventions and more on cooperation among regional partners.
A genuine peace agreement could also attract broad support from Republicans and Democrats. At a time when American domestic politics is deeply polarized, advancing Israel's security, Palestinian self-determination, Saudi-American strategic cooperation, and regional economic development offers the possibility of an achievement that transcends partisan divisions.
This will require the kind of presidential leadership that challenges friends as well as adversaries. Trump will have to tell Israel that the era of permanent occupation must end. He will have to tell Palestinians that independence requires democratic legitimacy, responsible governance, and a monopoly of force held by legitimate state institutions. He will have to work with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states to turn their political and financial commitments into concrete, irreversible steps toward peace.
He will need a comprehensive plan with a clear destination, binding commitments, practical implementation mechanisms, and a timetable. Another open-ended peace process will not be enough.
Trump has less than two years remaining in the White House. The clock is running. The political circumstances in Washington have changed, and the moment to act is now.
The Trump legacy could be remembered for something consequential: completing the transformation of the Middle East from a region defined by the Israeli-Arab conflict into a region of peace, partnership, and shared prosperity. The greatest deal Trump could ever make is still waiting to be made.
The opportunity is historic. The time is limited. The legacy could last for generations.
The writer is the Middle East director of the International Communities Organization and the co-head of the Alliance for Two States.
Follow us on GoogleSource: The Jerusalem Post · GERSHON BASKIN
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