Written by: Stefan J. Bos
Article source: www.worthynews.com
Saudi Arabia will host an Arab summit to offer an alternative to American President Donald J. Trump’s U.S. ‘takeover’ plan for the Gaza Strip, several sources confirmed Saturday.
Officials familiar with the talks said the February 20 gathering of the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates comes ahead of an Arab League meeting in Cairo one week later on the same issue.
Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmud Abbas was also due to attend the talks amid concerns that the fragile Gaza truce deal could collapse.
Trump’s statements on turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Mediterranean” and removing Palestinians living there added to tensions, though at least some Palestinians have privately welcomed the idea after years of mismanagement by Hamas and its allies.
Proposals to be considered at the summit could involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund, as well as a political deal for Hamas’ exit from power, according to several officials.
Trump has pressured Egypt and Jordan in particular, threatening to cut off crucial foreign and defense aid if they don’t come on board his plan. He wants these neighboring states to absorb over 1.2 displaced Palestinians.
Yet the UAE envoy to Washington reportedly signaled the possibility of removing all Palestinians from Gaza, in line with Trump’s controversial Gaza plan.
UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba called the plan “difficult but inevitable” and said he sees “no alternative” to restoring prosperity and peace to the troubled region.
Click here to KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
> Please support Christian media and journalism in South Africa. Help us to spread the Word of God and take a stand for the truth by making a donation to our ministry. We appreciate your support. Click here to take hands with JOY! Magazine.
Date published: 20/02/2025
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork from www.freepik.com
DISCLAIMER
JOY! News is a Christian news portal that shares pre-published articles by writers around the world. Each article is sourced and linked to the origin, and each article is credited with the author’s name. Although we do publish many articles that have been written in-house by JOY! journalists, we do not exclusively create our own content. Any views or opinions presented on this website are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.
