Egypt has said it is working on a “comprehensive vision” for the reconstruction of the war-torn Gaza Strip that guarantees Palestinians the right to stay on their land, unlike the proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump.
The Egyptian foreign ministry said it hoped to co-operate with the Trump administration to reach “a just settlement of the Palestinian cause”.
It followed Trump’s meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah on Tuesday, where he doubled down on his plan for the US to take over Gaza and permanently move the two million Palestinians living there to Jordan, Egypt and other locations.
Abdullah said every Arab state rejected the idea, and that Egypt would present an alternative.
The UN has warned that any forced displacement of the territory’s population would be illegal under international law and “tantamount to ethnic cleansing”.
It comes amid growing concern that the fighting in Gaza could resume, after Israel’s prime minister warned Hamas it would end the ceasefire if the Palestinian armed group “does not return our hostages by Saturday”.
Benjamin Netanyahu issued the ultimatum after Hamas said it was postponing freeing more hostages until further notice, claiming Israel had violated the terms of the ceasefire deal.
Sitting alongside King Abdullah at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said there had been “great progress” on his proposal to take over Gaza.
“With the United States being in control of that piece of land… you can have stability in the Middle East for the first time,” he told reporters.
When pressed by the reporters to comment on the plan to force the Palestinians to relocate to Jordan, King Abdullah said: “We have to keep in mind that there is a plan from Egypt and the Arab countries.”
Credit: bbc.com
