US Rejects Arab Leaders Plan for Gaza, Insists on Trump’s Displacement Scheme
The Trump administration has rejected a long-awaited plan for the reconstruction of Gaza endorsed by Arab leaders, saying the president stands by his own vision which includes expelling the territory’s Palestinian residents and transforming it into a “riviera” owned by the United States.
“The current proposal does not address the reality that Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance,” US National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said in a statement Tuesday night.
“President Trump stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas. We look forward to further talks to bring peace and prosperity to the region.”
Speaking in Cairo, PA President Mahmoud Abbas pledged that general elections will be held in the West Bank, Gaza and 1948 lands for the first time in nearly two decades “if circumstances are suitable.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still refuses to say what he envisions for Gaza’s post-war future, except to say that he endorses Trump’s plan for “a different Gaza.” And he thinks neither the PA nor Hamas should govern Gaza.
The $53 billion proposal by Arab nations calls for rebuilding Gaza by 2030. The first phase calls for starting the removal of unexploded ordnance and clearing more than 50 million tons of rubble left by Israel’s bombardment and military offensives.
Jordanian officials told CNN earlier that the plan will be presented to President Donald Trump in the coming weeks.
Although Arab states endorsed Egypt’s plan, the extent of its regional support remains uncertain. Notably, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – wealthy Gulf nations whose financial backing would be vital for any postwar strategy – were absent from the summit. Meanwhile, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune boycotted the meeting, citing “imbalances and shortcomings” and criticizing it as being “monopolized by a limited and narrow group of Arab countries.”
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Tuesday that the group’s arms were non-negotiable.
“The weapon of the resistance is a red line, and it is not negotiable,” he said. “We will not accept (any deal) to trade it for reconstruction or the entry of aid.”
Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, said last month that the group will not disarm and may even grow after the war in Gaza.
The current ceasefire in Gaza, in place since January, remains in doubt after its first phase expired on Saturday.
‘Israel’ has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza to pressure the resistance to make concessions and has warned of additional consequences, raising fears of a return to fighting.
An emergency Arab summit in Cairo on Tuesday adopted Egypt’s reconstruction plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip, as it rejected the displacement of Palestinians.
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