The foreign ministers of five Arab countries and a senior Palestinian official have sent a joint letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio opposing plans to displace Palestinians from Gaza.
The letter, first reported by Axios and later confirmed by Reuters, was sent on Monday and signed by the foreign ministers of the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and Palestinian presidential adviser Hussein Al Sheikh.
“Reconstruction in Gaza should be through direct engagement with and participation of the people of Gaza. Palestinians will live in their land and help rebuild it,” the letter said.
“And they should not be stripped of their agency during reconstruction as they must take ownership of the process with the support of the international community.”
Delivery of the letter follows a meeting in Cairo at the weekend between the officials and Tim Lenderking, the former US special envoy to Yemen and current senior official in the bureau of Near Eastern affairs at the State Department, according to Egypt's State Information Service.
During the meeting, the officials delivered a verbal message to Mr Rubio highlighting the mutual desire to co-ordinate with the US on ensuring peace and stability in the region
US President Donald Trump first floated the suggestion of Jordan and Egypt taking in Palestinians from Gaza on January 25, less than a week into a ceasefire that has halted fighting between Israel and Hamas.
When asked if he was suggesting that as a long-term or short-term solution, he said: “Could be either.”
Jordan and Egypt rejected the idea, with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi calling it an “act of oppression”.
But Mr Trump persisted with the suggestion, saying last Thursday: “We do a lot for them and they are going to do it.”
His Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has said rebuilding Gaza could take between 10 and 15 years, and that the territory is “uninhabitable”.
The US President's comments echo long-standing Palestinian fears of being permanently driven from their homes and were called a proposal of ethnic cleansing by critics.
The Israel-Gaza war has killed more than 47,400 Palestinians.
Israel's strikes and ground offensive followed a Hamas-led attack on Israel communities on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 abducted.
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m
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