Arab leaders discuss alternative to Trump Gaza plan at Saudi Arabia meet

Al Jazeera:

The leaders of seven Arab countries have held talks in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to hash out a plan for the future of Gaza.

The gathering on Friday in Riyadh was meant to respond to a plan raised by US President Donald Trump for the US to “take over” Gaza, permanently forcibly displace its residents and turn the Palestinian enclave into the “Riviera” of the Middle East.

Arab leaders have roundly rejected Trump’s proposal, saying it throws out decades of work towards Palestinian self-determination, treads on the rights of residents of Gaza and will perpetuate a regional cycle of violence.

They hope to present an alternative plan with unified support at a March 4 Arab League meeting in Cairo, Egypt.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had called the Riyadh meeting, which was attended by Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad Al Sabah and Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

No official account of the meeting had been released Friday by any of the countries involved, and it was not immediately clear if any details of a plan had been agreed to.