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• Saudi summit on Feb 20 to discuss various draft ideas for enclave; one proposal suggests sidelining of Hamas
• 369 Palestinians to be freed today in exchange for three Israeli prisoners
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is spearheading urgent Arab efforts to develop a plan for Gaza’s future as a counter to US President Donald Trump’s ambition for a Middle East Riviera cleared of its Palestinian inhabitants, sources said.
Meanwhile, Hamas on Friday said Israel is expected to release 369 Palestinians in exchange for three Israeli prisoners on Saturday.
Saudi Arabia will host the leaders of four Arab countries on Feb 20 to discuss Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza, a source said.
The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE will attend the summit, to take place ahead of an Arab League meeting in Cairo one week later on the same issue. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas may also attend.
Draft ideas will be discussed at the Feb 20 meeting in Riyadh. Proposals may involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas.
Trump sparked a global outcry with his proposal for the US to “take over” the Gaza Strip. Arab countries have come together in a rare united front, outraged by the idea of displacing the Palestinians.
For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the “Nakba”, or catastrophe — the mass displacement of their ancestors during Israel’s creation in 1948.
Reuters spoke to 15 sources in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere to build a picture of the hurried efforts by Arab states to pull together existing proposals into a new plan they can sell to the US president.
All the sources declined to be identified.
One Arab government source said at least four proposals had already been drafted for Gaza’s future, but an Egyptian proposal was now emerging as central to the Arab push for an alternative to Trump’s idea.
The Egyptian proposal involves forming a national Palestinian committee to govern Gaza without Hamas involvement, international participation in reconstruction without displacing the Palestinians, and movement towards a two-state solution, three Egyptian security sources said.
“We are telling the Americans we have a plan that works. Our meeting with MbS is going to be critical. He is taking the lead,” said a Jordanian official.
The White House did not respond to several requests for comment.
Meanwhile, Palestinian groups in Gaza said they would release hostages Iair Horn, US-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen and Russian-Israeli Alexandre Sasha Troufanov on Saturday, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.
Hamas said Israel was expected to release 369 Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2025
