Key points
- Sisi urges reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians”
- Egypt plans to “present a comprehensive vision for reconstruction” of Gaza
- Egypt and Jordan have rejected Trump’s shocking proposal
ISLAMABAD: United States (US) President Donald Trump has said that he can cut aid to Egypt and Jordan if they declined his demand to permanently take in most Palestinians from Gaza.
Egypt and Jordan, both major recipients of US military and economic aid, have rejected any suggestion that Palestinians be relocated to their countries.
AFP cited the Egyptian foreign ministry as saying that Egypt plans to “present a comprehensive vision for the reconstruction” of the Gaza Strip that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.
The foreign ministry said Egypt “hopes to cooperate” with Trump’s administration on the matter, with the goal of “reaching a fair settlement of the Palestinian cause”.
It added its plan would provide for the reconstruction of Gaza “in a clear and decisive manner that ensures the Palestinian people stay on their land, and in line with the legitimate and legal rights of this people”.
During a meeting with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II had said Egypt would present a plan that Arab leaders would discuss at coming talks.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — who exchanged invitations for state visits with Trump last month, which have not yet been scheduled — urged on Tuesday the reconstruction of Gaza “without displacing Palestinians”.
A global backlash
During a phone call with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Sisi “stressed the necessity of starting the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip… without displacing Palestinians and in a way that ensures the preservation of their rights… to live on their land”.
Sisi also said the establishment of a Palestinian state was “the only guarantee for achieving lasting peace” in the region, according to a statement from his office.
Trump has proposed the US taking over Gaza and clearing Palestinians out, envisioning rebuilding the devastated territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” after resettling Palestinians elsewhere, namely Egypt and Jordan.
His remarks have sparked a global backlash and Arab countries have condemned the proposal, insisting on a two-state solution of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
On Monday, Egypt’s foreign ministry rejected “any compromise” that would infringe on Palestinians’ rights, including their right to “remaining on the land”, in a statement issued shortly after Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with his US counterpart Marco Rubio in Washington. With input from AFP.
