Cairo (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Egypt said that Cairo will hold an emergency Arab summit on February 27 to discuss the latest developments concerning the Palestinian problem and the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated in a statement.
The gathering comes amid regional and global denunciation of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s proposal to “take over the Gaza Strip” from Israel and form a “Riviera of the Middle East” after relocating Palestinians elsewhere.
The meeting was decided to take place after Egypt’s high-level talks with Arab nations, including Palestine, which asked for the summit and coordination with Bahrain, the current head of the Arab League (AL) summit, and the AL secretariat, according to the statement.
What does Trump mean by ‘Riviera of the Middle East’?
Recently, President Donald Trump made controversial remarks about taking over the Gaza Strip, which have been met with widespread criticism and concern. Trump said that after hostilities end, the United States could assume control of Gaza, which Israel would hand over to the U.S.
He envisioned transforming Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” a plan that includes significant redevelopment efforts. The proposal involves relocating Palestinians from Gaza to other countries temporarily during reconstruction efforts.
What are the key takeaways from Egypt’s previous Gaza summit?
The last summit Egypt had over Gaza was the Cairo Peace Summit on October 21, 2023. The conference aimed at seeking ways to curtail the escalatory conflict that was taking place between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. It called for de-escalation strategies and the implementation of humanitarian support in Gaza using the Rafah crossing.
Several regional and international leaders attended to find a means of containing the Gaza crisis. Though this summit did not specifically focus on Gaza but, rather, tackled the more broad issues of Palestinians, it still represented a considerable effort by Egypt under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s leadership in terms of efforts to mediate peace efforts in the region.
