US, Arab partners headed for clash over Gaza’s future
The Trump administration says the onus is on Arab states to produce a postwar vision of their own after they rejected a plan for US ownership of the Gaza Strip.
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WASHINGTON — Arab states aren’t waiting to see whether President Donald Trump’s proposal to depopulate the Gaza Strip and redevelop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” is a negotiating tactic.
Envoys from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, plus Egypt and Jordan, will gather in Riyadh on Friday to formulate a counterproposal to Trump’s Gaza takeover plan, which they fear would further destabilize the region and dash what hope remains for Palestinian statehood. They’ll seek buy-in from the 22-member Arab League at a summit in Cairo on March 4.
“All these countries say how much they care about the Palestinians," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week. "We’re going to give them a chance to come up with a plan."
