Egypt called for the swift reconstruction of Gaza and said Palestinians should not have to leave the territory, where he said the Palestinian Authority should “assume its duties”, AFP reports.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty’s call came during pre-scheduled talks with Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa in Cairo, hours after a shock proposal from President Donald Trump for the United States to take over the Gaza Strip and resettle its people in other countries.

Egypt’s foreign ministry statement stopped short of referring directly to Trump’s latest announcement on a US takeover of the territory.

Abdelatty and Mustafa agreed on “the importance of moving forward with early recovery projects… at an accelerated pace… without the Palestinians leaving the Gaza Strip, especially with their commitment to their land and refusal to leave it”, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

Abdelatty on Wednesday said Egypt believed in the “importance of empowering the Palestinian Authority politically and economically, and its assuming its duties in the Gaza Strip as part of the occupied Palestinian territories”.