The leaders of the Arab countries met on Friday to develop a strategy with their Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts in an attempt to confront President Trump’s controversial proposal to redevelop Gaza under the control of the United States and provide its Palestinian population.
The meeting was in the Saudi capital, Raydeh, in preparation for the broader Arab League summit in Egypt on March 4. It ended after several hours of discussions, especially “joint efforts between nations to support the Palestinian issue and the developments in Gaza, a sector,” according to a statement from the Saudi government.
Mr. Trump’s suggestion this month that the United States may control Gaza, develop it to “Riviera in the Middle East” and transfer its Palestinian residents to neighboring countries such as Egypt and Jordan He was amazed and angry Throughout the Arab world. His assistants then re -formulated it as a challenge to the leaders of the Middle East to reach a better alternative, even as Mr. Trump continues to insist that he could persuade the two countries to accept the Palestinians.
“All of these countries say how much they are in the Palestinians,” said Foreign Minister Marco Rubio last week. “If the Arab countries have a better plan, this is great.”
Then, Arab governments scrambled to reach one.
On Friday, Mr. Trump admits that his persuasion efforts have failed and that Egypt and Jordan’s refusal to accept the displaced Ghazan would make the idea not applicable.
“Well, we are paying billions of Jordanian dollars and Egypt per year. Mr. Trump said in an interview on a phone with Fox News Brian Kilides:” I was a little surprised that they would say that, but they did. “He added:” I will tell you, how to do this is my plan. I think this is the truly work plan. But I do not force her. I am just sitting and recommending it. “
Egypt, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates together to formulate an alternative idea of Gaza, in which Arab countries help to finance and supervise reconstruction, while preserving the Palestinian state, according to diplomats and officials who have been briefed on efforts.
But the main adhesion point remains the issue of post -war governance in Gaza.
The proposed Egyptian plan is likely to include the formation of a committee of Palestinian technocrats and community leaders, all of whom are not organized with Hamas, who can operate Gaza after the war.
But Israeli leaders said that they will oppose any plans after the war that would pave the way for Palestinian sovereignty. Arab leaders insist that they only support a proposal that at least formulating a path towards the Palestinian state.
As for any Arab strategy on Gaza governance, Arab leaders want the blessing of the Palestinian Authority, which is the internationally recognized body that managed Gaza until Hamas managed to control the region nearly two decades.
But the President of the Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, seemed cautious about any plan that does not give him full control of Gaza. Mr. Abbas did not attend talks on Friday, according to an official photo of the leaders issued by the Royal Jordanian Court.
Hamas officials said they will be ready to relinquish the civil affairs of another authority, but they have so far refused to say that they will turn their military wing, an unacceptable position for both Israel and Mr. Trump.
The members of the Gulf Cooperation Council attended the meeting in his head with the President of Egypt, Abdel Fahia Al -Sisi, and King Abdullah from Jordan. The Egyptian leader arrived in Riyadh on Thursday to hold preliminary talks with the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday before his departure to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mr. Sisi strengthened the idea that Egypt’s proposals “will not involve a forced displacement” for the Palestinians.
The Arab plan will focus on the ideas that keep the Palestinians inside Gaza to confront the calls of Mr. Trump to Egypt and Jordan to take, an idea that the Arab countries rejected. Many in the Arab world will look at any forced displacement of the Palestinians from Gaza, ethnic cleansing and war crime, in addition to the death of any Palestinian state in the future.
Some countries, such as Jordan and Egypt, may be concerned that increasing Palestinian immigration can create economic and political unrest at home.
There were a number of other bold plans that were put forward for the next day in Gaza, but none of them actually gained a force towards. The last one came from Khalaf Al Habtoor, a billionaire of Emirati real estate pole, who I offered an ambitious scheme It aims to rebuild the pocket within years, not contracts. “
His proposal will start building 500,000 pre -made units as temporary housing for the displaced in southern Gaza. The ambitious plan will cost about $ 2 billion for the initial stage it is visited by the governments of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, if it accepts its proposal.
It will cost more than $ 50 billion to rebuild Gaza after nearly 16 months of war, According to the evaluation It was issued by the United Nations, the European Union and the World Bank this week.
Any GAZA plan will also take into account the need to prevent future attacks on Israel. There are also issues who will pay the price of reconstruction and whether the Arab countries will send the forces to maintain the stable of Gaza.
While Egypt has not yet issued full details of its proposal, the Prime Minister said to Mustafa Mapoli on Wednesday that Cairo was working on a comprehensive plan to rebuild Gaza, which imagined the restoration of the pocket within three years, according to AHRAM Online, which is Egyptian news run by the state. .
Rayada plays a decisive diplomatic role this week, as we hosted US, Russian and Arab officials in high -risk talks on wars in both Ukraine and Gaza.
Vivian Yi It contributed to the reports from Cairo.