Trump’s legacy could include 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.

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.

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