February 19, 2025
DUBAI – The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis has marked 500 days with more uncertainty, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a visit to Riyadh on Monday, focused on US President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal for Gaza, a plan that has drawn strong condemnation from Arab states but Israel is “committed” to it.
It also came as Egypt is developing a plan to rebuild Gaza without forcing Palestinians out of the enclave in a counter to Trump’s proposal to depopulate the conflict-torn Gaza Strip.
Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper said Cairo’s proposal calls for establishing “secure areas” within Gaza where Palestinians can live initially while Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate Gaza’s infrastructure in a three-phase process that will take up to five years.
Egyptian officials have been discussing the plan with European diplomats as well as with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal is still being negotiated.
Egypt, along with Saudi Arabia and Jordan, has been leading efforts to formulate an Arab-led alternative. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said last week that Cairo plans to present a “comprehensive vision “for Gaza reconstruction.
Rubio was on his first trip to the Middle East since taking office. He met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud on Monday. He has already visited Israel and is expected to travel to the UAE.
Riyadh is expected to host a regional meeting on Friday and officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan will discuss Egypt’s proposal before introducing it at the Arab summit later this month.
While the United States has indicated it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, Rubio has stated that “the only plan is the Trump plan”.
Critical juncture
Gaza is at a critical juncture with the first phase of the cease-fire due to run out in early March. Israel and Hamas must still negotiate a second phase meant to ensure the release of all remaining hostages, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a long-term halt to the conflict.
However, Israel established a new agency for the “voluntary departure” of Gaza’s Palestinian population. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the establishment of a government directorate to push for the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians, his ministry said on Monday.
Israel’s military operation has killed at least 48,271 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Despite the truce and the diplomatic efforts to extend it, Gazans are concerned the violence could reignite.
Abu Mursa and his family have been displaced more than a dozen times since the conflict began, moving from place to place across the territory in a desperate attempt to stay safe, according to Agence France-Presse.
“It’s been 500 days of humiliation, suffering and bloodshed,” said the resident of northern Gaza, finally able to return home after the fragile cease-fire took hold on Jan 19. “I just hope the cease-fire holds. There is only destruction around us.”
Rights groups and experts have said Trump’s plan amounts to forced expulsion, a potential war crime. European countries have also largely denounced Trump’s plan.
The plan exhibits no understanding of the historical Palestinian experience, and during the last 16 months, 90 percent of the population of Gaza was again forcibly displaced, said Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London, adding this was no great humanitarian proposal, as the White House has tried to portray it.
“Any solution for Palestine has to be Palestinian-led. Gaza is for Palestinians and all designs on the future of the Gaza Strip must be devised by them, for them and with them. If Israel wants security and not territory, then a thriving Gaza is definitely in its best interest,” he said in a comment for Arab News.
Agencies contributed to this story.