The United Arab Emirates (UAE) president told the United States secretary of state Marco Rubio on Wednesday that his country opposes any Palestinian displacement proposal, according to the Emirati state news agency WAM.
President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s comments came after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza and resettling its Palestinian inhabitants in Jordan and Egypt, prompting widespread opposition among Arab countries and Western allies.
Gaza Reconstruction
The UAE president told United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting in Abu Dhabi that it was important to link the reconstruction of Gaza to a path leading to “a comprehensive and lasting peace based on the two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The UAE’s stance on the conflict is important because it is one of four Arab countries that normalised ties with Israel during the first Trump administration and because it has played a role in financing reconstruction work after previous conflicts.
Arab Diplomacy On Gaza
Arab diplomacy on Gaza is aimed at developing an alternative to Trump’s plan for the territory, most of which lies in ruins after Israel’s 15-month military campaign against Hamas, with nearly all the 2.3 million inhabitants now homeless.
The leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE and Qatar are expected to discuss the plan in Riyadh this month before it can be presented to an Arab League summit in Cairo in March.
International Criticism
Donald Trump’s plan for the U.S. to take control of war-torn Gaza and transform it into a “Riviera of the Middle East” after relocating Palestinians has upended U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and drawn widespread criticism.
The shock move from Trump, a former New York property developer, was swiftly condemned by international powers, with regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, which Trump hopes will establish ties with Israel, rejecting the plan outright.
(With inputs from Reuters)
