DUBAI: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has invited the leaders of Gulf Arab countries, Egypt, and Jordan for a meeting in Riyadh on Friday, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported on Thursday.
Arab states have pledged to work on a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip’s reconstruction to counter US President Donald Trump’s proposal to redevelop the enclave as an international beach resort after resettling its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere.
Saudi Arabia said Friday’s meeting would be unofficial and held within “the framework of the close brotherly relations that bring together the leaders”, SPA said.
“As for joint Arab action and the decisions issued regarding it, it will be on the agenda of the upcoming emergency Arab summit that will be held in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt,” SPA added, referring to plans for an emergency Arab summit on March 4 to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Summit will take place in Riyadh behind closed doors, with no access for the public or media
Trump has called for Egypt and Jordan to take in resettled Palestinians from Gaza, a suggestion they both rejected.
The plan has united Arab states in opposition, but disagreements remain over who should govern the war-ravaged Palestinian territory and how to fund its reconstruction.
Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi foreign policy, called the summit the “most consequential” in decades for the wider Arab world and the Palestinian issue.
Trump triggered global outrage when he proposed the United States would “take over the Gaza Strip” and that its 2.4 million people would be relocated to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan.
A source close to the Saudi government said Arab leaders would discuss “a reconstruction plan counter to Trump’s plan for Gaza”.
Meeting with Trump in Washington on Feb 11, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said Egypt would present a plan for a way forward. The Saudi source said the talks would discuss “a version of the Egyptian plan”.
The official Saudi Press Agency, citing an official, confirmed on Thursday that Egypt and Jordan were participating in the Riyadh summit along with the six country members of the Gulf Cooperation Council with the aim of “strengthening cooperation... and with regard to joint Arab action”.
The agency also said decisions issued by the “unofficial fraternal meeting” in the Saudi capital would appear on the agenda of an emergency Arab League summit to be held in Egypt on 4 March.
Previously a Saudi source said the Palestinian Authority would also take part in the meetings. Two diplomatic sources said on Thursday that the summit would take place in Riyadh behind closed doors, with no access for the public or media.
Unity
Rebuilding Gaza will be a key issue, after Trump cited reconstruction as justification for relocating its population.
Cairo has yet to announce its initiative, but former Egyptian diplomat Mohamed Hegazy outlined a plan “in three technical phases over a period of three to five years”.
Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2025
