From: Reuters February 14, 2025
Arab countries scramble to offer Trump an alternate proposal for post-war Gaza

Egyptian plan would see terror group Hamas sidelined in governance of coastal enclave; issue to be discussed at end of month in 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 10 sources told Reuters.

Draft ideas will be discussed at a meeting in Riyadh this month of countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
Proposals may involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas, five of the people said.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies were aghast at Trump’s plan to “clean out” Palestinians from Gaza and resettle most of them in Jordan and Egypt, an idea immediately rejected by Cairo and Amman and seen in most of the region as deeply destabilizing.

The dismay in Saudi Arabia was aggravated, sources said, because the plan would nix the kingdom’s demand for a clear path to Palestinian statehood as a condition to normalize ties with Israel — something that would also pave the way for an ambitious military pact between Riyadh and Washington, shoring up the kingdom’s defenses against Iran.

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 — even potentially calling it a “Trump plan” to win his approval.

All the sources declined to be identified because the issue involves international or domestic sensitivities and they were not authorized to speak in public.

One Arab government source said at least four proposals had already been drafted for Gaza’s future, with an Egyptian proposal emerging as central to the Arab push for an alternative to Trump’s idea.