CrossFireArabia
Saudi Arabia is set to host a five-nation Arab meeting on 20 February to discuss an Egyptian-led proposal for rebuilding the Gaza Strip while ensuring that its Palestinian residents are not displaced, an Arab League official announced.
The meeting will bring together officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Hossam Zaki, the Arab League’s assistant secretary-general.
In a televised statement, Zaki noted that Palestine may also be invited to take part in the discussions, which aim to establish a framework for the reconstruction initiative ahead of an upcoming Arab summit according to The Palestine Chronicle.
Egypt has scheduled an emergency Arab summit for 27 February, following the controversial proposal by former US President Donald Trump to take control of Gaza and forcibly resettle its Palestinian population.
Trump claimed his plan would turn the devastated enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” a proposal widely condemned as ethnic cleansing.
“The countries participating in the upcoming meeting seek to coordinate their positions regarding the Egyptian proposals that will be presented at the Arab summit,” Zaki stated.
He added that the summit could be postponed for logistical reasons to ensure maximum participation from Arab leaders.
According to Zaki, the summit will aim to unify the Arab stance on Palestine, firmly reject displacement schemes initiated by Israel and backed by the US, and put forward a collective Arab counterproposal to Trump’s plan.
On Sunday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi confirmed that Cairo is working on a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza, emphasizing that the initiative would not involve the forced relocation of Palestinians.
The discussions come in the wake of a ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on 19 January, ending months of Israeli attacks that killed and wounded over 160,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—and left much of the enclave in ruins.
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