Saudi Arabia is leading efforts by Arab countries to draw up a plan for Gaza‘s future in response to US President Donald Trump‘s ambitions to turn the Palestinian enclave into a “Middle East Riviera“, sources said.

The proposals will be discussed at a conference to be held later this month in Riyadh with the participation of countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies were shocked by Trump’s proposal to move Palestinians out of Gaza and settle mainly in Egypt and Jordan, a plan that was immediately rejected by Cairo and Amman and most countries in the region.

Outrage in Saudi Arabia has grown, sources said, because the plan ignores the kingdom’s demand for the creation of a Palestinian state, something Riyadh has made a condition for normalizing relations with Israel.

Reuters spoke to 15 sources in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere. All asked not to be named as the issue is highly sensitive and they were not authorized to speak.

An Arab government source pointed out that at least four proposals have been drawn up for the future of Gaza, with the Egyptian proposal emerging as the most basic at the moment.

Egyptian proposal

The Cairo proposal calls for the formation of a national Palestinian committee to govern Gaza without the involvement of Hamas, international participation in the reconstruction of the enclave without displacing Palestinians and moves towards a two-state solution, three sources in the Egyptian security services explained.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian representatives will meet in Riyadh to discuss the plan before it is presented on Feb. 27 at a planned Arab summit, an Arab government source explained.

The role of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appears to be emerging as key.

“We are telling the Americans that we have a plan that works. Our meeting with MbS will be critical, he is taking over the leadership,” a Jordanian official commented.

The Saudi crown prince had a warm relationship with Trump during his first term in the US presidency.

For his part, US Secretary of State Marko Rubio said yesterday (Thursday), “For now, the only plan – which they don’t like – but the only plan, is Trump’s. So, if they have a better one, the time has come to present it.”

Israel has rejected the possibility of Hamas or the Palestinian Authority being involved in the governance of Gaza after the war or being responsible for the enclave’s security. Arab countries and the US have indicated that they do not wish to deploy troops in Gaza.

Moreover, the Gulf countries, which have historically funded the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, have said they do not wish to rebuild the enclave this time without guarantees that Israel will not destroy what they build.

King Abdullah of Jordan stressed while speaking to Trump on Monday during their meeting at the White House that he was working with Saudi Arabia and Egypt on a plan for Gaza that would work, according to a Jordanian source.

The proposals, cited by three Egyptian sources and involving reconstruction and financing, appear to be at an advanced stage.

These envisage the creation of a neutral zone and an artificial border which would be erected to prevent tunnels being built on Gaza’s border with Egypt. Once the debris is removed from Gaza, 20 areas will be designated as temporary zones where Palestinians will live. About 50 Egyptian and other foreign companies will take on the work.

Gulf countries will participate in the financing, a regional source said. Possibly a fund may be called the Trump Fund for Reconstruction, an Arab government official noted.

However, the most difficult issues relate to governance and security in Gaza, which have not yet been resolved, the official noted.

It is considered critical that Hamas has no role in Gaza. In the past, the Palestinian movement has said it is willing to cede governance of the enclave, but wants to be involved in selecting the members of the future government. Moreover, it has stressed that it will not accept the deployment of ground forces in Gaza without its consent.

The three Egyptian sources stressed that although the plan is not new, they believe it is good enough to change Trump’s mind and may be imposed on Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.