Arab leaders will gather in Saudi Arabia tomorrow to counter President Donald Trump’s plan for US control of Gaza and the expulsion of its inhabitants, diplomatic and government sources say, according to AFP.

The plan stirred rare unity among Arab states which roundly rejected the idea, but they could still disagree over who will govern the Palestinian territory and who will pay for reconstruction.

Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi foreign policy, told AFP the summit would be the “most consequential” in decades in relation to the wider Arab world and the Palestinian issue.

A source close to the Saudi government told AFP that Arab leaders would discuss “a reconstruction plan counter to Trump’s plan for Gaza”. The Saudi source said the talks would discuss “a version of the Egyptian plan” Jordan’s King Abdullah had mentioned.

Tomorrow’s summit was originally planned for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan. However, it has been expanded to include the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Palestinian Authority.

 A drone view shows Palestinians spending time on a beach, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City on February 18, 2025. — Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A drone view shows Palestinians spending time on a beach, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City on February 18, 2025. — Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas

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