PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio shakes hands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the State Department in Washington, U.S., February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Craig Hudson
Cairo- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday that Arab states support Palestinians in rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to displace Palestinians in Gaza and take control of the enclave.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said Abdelatty, in a meeting in Washington, stressed the importance of expediting Gaza’s reconstruction while Palestinians remained there.
Abdelatty, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, said he was looking forward to working with the new U.S. administration to achieve “comprehensive and just peace and stability” in the region, according to a foreign ministry statement.
He also met with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in a separate meeting, where he echoed similar statements, the foreign ministry said.
Any suggestion that Palestinians leave Gaza, which they want as part of an independent state, has been anathema to the Palestinian leadership for generations and neighbouring Arab states have rejected it since the Gaza war began in 2023.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the international community should unify behind Palestinians to right “historic injustice” and restore their “legitimate and inalienable rights.”
Trump’s plan has received global condemnation, with leaders saying such a move would threaten regional stability.
He said in excerpts from a Fox News interview on Monday that Palestinians would not have the right of return to Gaza under his proposal.
(Reuters)