Israeli PM says ‘committed’ to Trump’s Gaza plan

OCCUPIED AL-QUDS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he was “committed” to a US proposal to take over Gaza and displace its Palestinian residents, as Washington´s top diplomat was in Saudi Arabia to push the plan opposed by Arab states.

As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a visit to Saudi Arabia, a Saudi source told AFP Riyadh would host a regional summit later this week “to discuss Arab alternatives” to President Donald Trump´s widely criticised plan for the Gaza Strip.

Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait will be represented at the Friday summit, the source said. Rubio travelled to Riyadh from Israel, where he kicked off his first Middle East trip as Trump´s secretary of state.

Following his meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, Rubio said Hamas “must be eliminated”, while the Israeli premier touted a “common strategy” between the two allies. In a statement Monday, Netanyahu said he was “committed to US President Trump´s plan for the creation of a different Gaza”, also promising the after the war, “there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” ruling the territory.

The United States, Israel´s top ally and weapons supplier, says it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said for now, “the only plan is the Trump plan”.