[ad_1]
Egypt announced on Sunday it will host a summit of Arab leaders on Feb. 27 to discuss the future of the Gaza Strip after President Donald Trump signaled he wants the U.S. to own it.
Trump’s stunning declaration, made last week after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reiterated over the weekend, rankled key U.S. allies in the Middle East, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said the meeting in Cairo would include discussions on “the state of Palestine that asked to hold the summit in order to discuss new and dangerous developments for the Palestinian cause.”
Gaza’s Arab neighbors also dismissed Trump’s calls for them to take in the 1.8 million Palestinians still living in the Strip.
TRUMP’S GAZA ‘TAKEOVER’ RANKLES AMERICA FIRST CONSERVATIVES, ALLIES SUGGEST NEGOTIATOR-IN-CHIEF IS AT WORK
President Donald Trump, right, suggested U.S. owning Gaza after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)
While many of Trump’s allies surmised the bold suggestion was a negotiating tactic, Trump reasserted to reporters Sunday night as he was leaving the Super Bowl that he was committed to “buying and owning” Gaza.
“I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it. Other people may do it through our auspices. But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back,” he said.
“There’s nothing to move back in to. The place is a demolition site… The remainder will be demolished,” he added. “But we’ll make it into a very good site for future development by somebody.”
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, agreed to in January and partially brokered by Trump’s team, calls for a three- to five-year reconstruction phase, but Trump officials now insist it will take more like 10 to 15 years to rebuild the 139-square-mile territory that has been…
[ad_2]
