Egypt to host Arab crisis meeting amid uproar over Trump’s Gaza plan

Egypt said on Sunday it would host an emergency Arab summit later this month, after US President Donald Trump floated a plan to takeover the Gaza Strip and displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the war-devastated territory to other countries.

The summit will be held in Cairo on February 27 to discuss the “latest and serious developments” of the Palestinian issue, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement.

Earlier this week, Trump said the United States would take over the Gaza Strip and the Palestinians living in the coastal strip would be relocated to other countries.

Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump added that Gaza could become “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

His remarks have triggered a massive international criticism and rejection from Arab allies including Egypt that borders Gaza.

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

Last month, Egypt along with the US and Qatar brokered another ceasefire in the Gaza war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement after months of on-and-off negotiations.