In the face of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, Egypt has announced its own reconstruction plan for the largely destroyed Gaza Strip.
“Egypt expresses its aspiration to cooperate with the U.S. administration to achieve a comprehensive and just peace in the region by reaching a just settlement of the Palestinian.
“This is the cause that upholds the rights of the region’s peoples,” said a statement by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo.
The statement went on to say that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip must be carried out.
“In a manner that ensures the Palestinian people remain in their homeland and aligns with their legitimate and legal rights.’’
Egypt said a two-state solution, which provides for Israel and a Palestinian state to coexist as independent states, is “the only path to stability and coexistence among the region’s peoples.’’
One week ago Trump proposed the U.S. take over and level the war-ruined coastal territory, resettle the nearly two million Palestinians living there.
They were all engage in a massive rebuilding effort to create the riviera of the Middle East.
Trump on Tuesday once again spoke of Gaza’s value in real estate terms, noting that it’s fronting on the sea.
The U.S. president has said he expects to be able to strike a deal with Israel’s neighbours Egypt and Jordan for the relocation of the Palestinians.
However, both countries have vehemently rejected the idea of accommodating Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
The plan has sparked fierce criticism from Washington’s allies and adversaries alike, although Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has praised the idea.
Jordan to take in 2,000 sick Gaza children – PM
Meanwhile, Jordan is ready to receive 2,000 sick Gaza children for medical treatment, as the healthcare system in the coastal enclave has been devastated, Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan announced on Wednesday.
Hassan reaffirmed Jordan’s clear and unwavering position that there should be no resettlement nor displacement of Palestinians.
No solutions to the Palestinian issue should come at Jordan’s expense, Hassan said during a parliamentary session.
Jordan would not act unilaterally on matters concerning the future of Palestine and the region, he added.
He said that the country was working with Arab nations, alongside Egypt and Palestinians, to formulate a unified and clear Arab position on Gaza’s reconstruction.
“Supporting Palestinians’ resilience and defending their just rights are at the core of Jordan’s efforts.
“And a just resolution to the Palestinian cause based on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state is the foundation of achieving regional security, stability and peace.”
He added that Jordan’s stability and security, and the protection of its people, were paramount.
Hassan’s remarks came a day after Jordanian King Abdullah II rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during his visit to Washington.
Earlier, Trump had proposed that the U.S. should take control of Gaza and that the Palestinians be relocated to neighbouring Jordan and Egypt, which had been widely condemned.
Trump later threatened that the U.S. “could conceivably withhold aid” from Jordan and Egypt if the two countries did not agree to receive Palestinians.