Arab nations prepare to counter Trump’s controversial plan for US ownership of Gaza
US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over the Gaza Strip is challenged by Palestinian authorities and Arab States (Flickr).
Arab States are working to propose a counter-plan following US President Donald Trump’s remarks on February 6, 2025, that the Gaza Strip should be handed over to the US for redevelopment. The proposal has been met with international condemnation, since UN officials consider the expulsion of 2 million people from Gaza to be ethnic cleansing, according to NPR.
On February 6, Trump proposed relocating Palestinians in Gaza to neighboring Arab states like Egypt and Jordan following the end of the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Trump also emphasized that Palestinians would not be allowed to return to the territory, which US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavittas later contradicted by stating Palestinian relocation was only temporary, as reported by BBC. His reasoning follows the understanding that Palestinians would much rather prefer to stay in “better housing” and in places where there was no war. The Middle Eastern states that surround Gaza would theoretically rebuild the strip in sections.
Under a US-Gaza strip, there would be no Palestinian-led government, according to Aljazeera. After meeting with Trump in the Oval Office, Jordanian King Abdullah II said that surrounding Arab nations would meet to formulate their own plan for Gaza after the war. In a post on X, King Abdullah emphasized Jordan and other Arab states’ unmoving position on a Palestinian state, writing, “I reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.” However, Jordan and Egypt’s reliance on US aid proposes an issue regarding the strength of their negotiating positions, with Trump saying he could “conceivably withhold aid” if they do not take Gazan refugees, according to NPR.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed with Trump’s plan, saying that he is “committed to US President Trump’s plan for the creation of a different Gaza,” according to The Guardian. Netanyahu’s remarks followed the announcement that Hamas would give control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz additionally announced the creation of an agency to oversee the “voluntary departure” of Palestinian people. According to the Middle East Monitor, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel must “quickly move forward with the plan.”
The Palestinian Authorities and Arab States have entirely rejected any proposal to give the US ownership of Gaza, forcing them to create alternative plans. As reported by Reuters, officials from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt expect to meet soon to discuss future redevelopment and governance in Gaza. Egypt has already begun to describe its redevelopment plan. Egypt would establish “secure areas” within Palestinian territory for displaced Palestinians to temporarily move to while reconstruction is underway, according to Radio Liberty. Rebuilding would last five years, with three designated zones in Gaza for humanitarian aid.