Inside Egypt's Arab summit plan to use leverage to thwart Trump’s Gaza plan
Cairo is coordinating with Arab League member states to forge a united front and support for its plan to counter the US president's vision of taking over Gaza.
Cairo is busy with a flurry of diplomatic activity ahead of an emergency Arab League summit it is hosting on Tuesday. Egypt is seeking to coordinate stances with league member states to drum up support for its proposal as a counter to US President Donald Trump's widely condemned plan to displace the Palestinian population of Gaza and seize control of the territory.
Riyadh hosted a preparatory mini-summit of Arab heads of states on Feb. 21 to coordinate stances on Egypt's plan ahead of the full summit. No final communique was issued, leaving it unclear whether an Arab consensus had been reached on funding Gaza’s reconstruction and who should administer the territory post-conflict.
Earlier in February, Trump expressed his desire for the United States to “take over” and develop the Gaza Strip. Both Egypt and Jordan have stood firm in rejecting Trump's plan to relocate the Palestinians in Gaza into their territories. As Trump promoted his proposal, Sisi reportedly postponed a planned Feb. 18 visit to the United States until after the Arab summit.
An Egyptian diplomat who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity suggested that Sisi had wanted to avoid being “put on the spot” by Trump regarding the plan.
