Arab Countries Discuss Gaza Reconstruction Plans After War, Need Funds Of 20 Billion US Dollars

JAKARTA - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will travel to Riyadh on Thursday. Al-Sisi will discuss Arab plans for Gaza that may cover up to 20 billion US dollars from the region for Gaza reconstruction.

Arab countries are expected to discuss plans after the war in Gaza to counter US President Donald Trump's proposal to rebuild the route under US control and displace Palestinians.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Qatar will review and discuss Arab plans in Riyadh before being presented at the Arab summit scheduled to take place in Cairo on March 4, according to four sources familiar with the matter.

On Friday, gatherings of Arab leaders, including Jordan, Egypt, the UAE and Qatar, were expected in Saudi Arabia, which is the spearhead of Arab efforts in Trump's plans, although some sources said the date had not yet been confirmed.

Arab countries are disappointed by Trump's plan to 'clean up' Palestinians from Gaza and recast most of them in Jordan and Egypt, to create Middle East Riviera.

The idea was immediately rejected by Cairo and Amman and is considered to be very disruptive to stability in most areas.

Arab proposals, largely based on Egypt's plans, involve forming a Palestinian national committee to rule Gaza without Hamas involvement and international participation in reconstruction without displacing Palestinians abroad.

The contribution of $20 billion from Arab and Gulf countries to the fund, cited by two sources as likely to be a good incentive for Trump to accept the plan, said United Arab Emirates academic Abdulkhaleq Abdullah.

"Trump is transactional so that $20 billion will be well received by him," Abdullah said.

This will benefit many American and Israeli companies.

Egyptian sources told Reuters discussions were still ongoing regarding the magnitude of financial contributions from the region.

"It is planned that the reconstruction will take place within three years," said the source.

My conversation with Arab leaders, most recently King Abdullah, has assured me that they have a very realistic assessment of their supposed role, Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters in Tel Aviv during a visit to Israel on Monday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Tel Aviv was waiting to evaluate the plan, but warned of any plans that made Hamas continued to be present in Gaza unacceptable.

"When we hear about it, we'll know how to deal with it," he said.