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Translated by: Flutura Gashi-Mehmeti
- February 19, 2025 13:33 AM
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The leader of the United Arab Emirates, President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday that his country rejects the idea of displacing Palestinians from their land, the state-run Emirates news agency WAM reported.
His comments came after US President Donald Trump proposed taking control of Gaza by the US and resettling its Palestinian residents to Jordan and Egypt, sparking widespread opposition among Arab countries and Western allies, Reuters reports.
Nahyan reportedly told Secretary Rubio during a meeting in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday that it was important to link the reconstruction of Gaza to a path that leads to "a comprehensive and lasting peace, based on a two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The UAE's stance on the conflict is significant because it is one of four Arab countries that normalized ties with Israel during the first Trump administration and because it has played a role in funding reconstruction work after previous conflicts.
Arab diplomacy aims to develop an alternative to Trump's plan for Gaza, much of which lies in ruins after Israel's 15-month military offensive against Hamas, with almost all of its 2.3 million residents now homeless.
The leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are expected to discuss the plan in Riyadh this month before it is presented at an Arab League summit in Cairo in March.
