QNA/AFP/Riyadh
Saudi Arabia announced yesterday that Riyadh will host today an “informal fraternal meeting” at the invitation of the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, which will include the leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council countries, Jordan and Egypt.
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted an official source as saying that the meeting comes within the context of the special friendly meetings that have been held periodically for many years between the leaders of GCC countries, Jordan and Egypt.
The source added that it also comes within the framework of the close fraternal relations between the leaders, which contribute to enhancing co-operation and co-ordination amongst the GCC countries, Jordan and Egypt.
The source said that joint Arab action and any decisions issued regarding it will be on the agenda of the upcoming extraordinary Arab summit to be held in Egypt.
AFP adds: Arab leaders will meet in Saudi Arabia to ponder an alternative to President Donald Trump’s proposal for US control of Gaza and the expulsion of its people, diplomatic and government sources said.
The plan has united Arab states opposed to it, with a decision on who should govern the war-ravaged Palestinian territory and how to fund its reconstruction pending.
Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi foreign policy, called the summit the “most consequential” in decades for the wider Arab world and the Palestinian issue.
Trump triggered global outrage when he proposed the United States would “take over the Gaza Strip” and that its 2.4mn people would be relocated to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.
Meeting with Trump in Washington on February 11, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Egypt would present a plan for a way forward.
Rebuilding Gaza will be a key issue, after Trump cited reconstruction as justification for relocating its population.
Cairo has yet to announce its initiative, but former Egyptian diplomat Mohamed Hegazy outlined a plan “in three technical phases over a period of three to five years”.
The first, lasting six months, would focus on “early recovery”, said the member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, a think tank with strong ties to decision-making circles in Cairo.
“Heavy machinery will be brought in to remove debris, while designated safe zones will be identified within Gaza to temporarily relocate residents,” Hegazy said.
The second phase would require an international conference to provide details of reconstruction and would focus on rebuilding utility infrastructure, he said.
“The final phase will oversee the urban planning of Gaza, the construction of housing units, and the provision of educational and healthcare services.”
The United Nations estimated on Tuesday that rebuilding would cost more than $53bn, including more than $20bn in the first three years.
The last phase would include “launching a political track to implement the two-state solution and so that there is... an incentive for a sustainable truce”.
Egypt’s plan seeks to address the complex issue of post-war oversight for Gaza — which Hamas has controlled since 2007 — with “a Palestinian administration that is not aligned with any faction”, Hegazy said.
It will comprise “experts” and will be “politically and legally subordinate to the Palestinian Authority”, he added.
The Cairo initiative also envisions a Palestinian Authority-affiliated police force supplemented with security forces from Egypt, Arab states and other countries.
Hegazy said Hamas “will retreat from the political scene in the coming period”, while the Saudi source said Riyadh envisioned a Gaza Strip controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
