Saudi foreign policy expert Umer Karim, speaking to AFP on Thursday (February 20, 2025), emphasized that the upcoming Arab leaders' meeting will be "one of the most important in decades concerning the Arab world and the Palestinian issue."
Trump's declaration of the U.S. intention to "take over" Gaza and relocate its 2.4 million Palestinian residents to neighboring countries like Egypt and Jordan has ignited international outrage. A source close to the Saudi government told AFP that the summit would discuss "a reconstruction plan to counter Trump's proposal for Gaza."
Jordan's King Abdullah II, during a meeting with Trump at the White House on February 11, directly opposed the relocation plan, stating that Egypt would soon present its own future plan for Gaza. A Saudi insider mentioned that the leaders at the Riyadh summit will deliberate on Egypt's proposed solution, as referenced by King Abdullah II.
Initially expected to include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, and Jordan, the summit has expanded to involve all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Palestinian Authority.
For Palestinians, any attempt to forcibly relocate them from Gaza brings back memories of the 1948 Nakba, during which hundreds of thousands fled amid the creation of Israel. The reconstruction of Gaza, devastated by the ongoing Hamas-Israel conflict, will be a key topic in the summit, as Trump has cited it as the primary reason for his relocation proposal.