President Donald Trump’s plan to have the United States rebuild Gaza and relocate its population is the only viable option, the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the United States said.
“I don’t see an alternative to what’s being proposed. I really don’t,” Yousef Al Otaiba said Wednesday at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. “So if someone has one, we’re happy to discuss it, we’re happy to explore it, but it hasn’t surfaced yet.”
Is the UAE working on an alternative to Trump’s plan in Gaza? #UAE Ambassador Yousef Al-Otaiba tells me “not yet.” #Gaza #Trump @WorldGovSummit pic.twitter.com/nD2I5DPfcE
— Hadley Gamble (@_HadleyGamble) February 12, 2025
Trump proposed last week that the United States “take over” war-torn Gaza, removing “dangerous, unexploded bombs and other weapons” and relocating “the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza, ending the death and destruction.” The president later added that the relocated civilians “won’t return” to Gaza as they will have “much better housing” elsewhere.
Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel prompted an Israeli offensive aimed at dismantling the terrorist group. The fighting has left much of Gaza uninhabitable, with the United Nations estimating that 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced.
Trump’s surprise proposal has forced Arab states to shift their approach, prioritizing preventing mass displacement over long-standing efforts for Palestinian statehood. Egypt, which faces a potential influx of Gazan refugees, has launched a “diplomatic blitz” to rally support for an Arab-led and -funded reconstruction plan, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed support for Trump’s proposal. A majority of Israeli Jews back the plan as well, according to a recent poll.
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