Strong resistance to Trump’s Gaza formula expected in mini Arab summit in Riyadh
The Hindu
President Donald Trump’s plans for resolving the Israel-Palestine crisis by ethnic cleansing or “relocating” Palestinian population of Gaza to other Arab states is expected to face strong opposition as Saudi Arabia prepares to host a mini Arab summit in Riyadh this weekend.
President Donald Trump’s plans for resolving the Israel-Palestine crisis by ethnic cleansing or “relocating” Palestinian population of Gaza to other Arab states is expected to face strong opposition as Saudi Arabia prepares to host a mini Arab summit in Riyadh this weekend.
Apart from the summit, the region is also tense over the funeral, in Beirut, of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in a missile attack in the Lebanese capital on 27 September 2024. The funeral is expected to be a show of strength for the Shia crescent from Iran to Lebanon.
Israel-Palestine conflict: Full coverage
The summit of the five Arab powers was earlier planned for Thursday (February 20, 2025) but has now been pushed to Friday (February 21, 2025) and expanded where all the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE, Oman and Qatar) will be joined by Egypt and Jordan to brainstorm over the U.S.-Israel plans.
While the mainly Arab Muslim nations will display unity of purpose, the funeral of Nasrallah is expected to showcase the people power of the Iran-Lebanon Shia crescent that can heat up further in case Israel, now armed by the U.S.-made 2000-pound bunker buster bombs, carries out an attack on Iran in the coming weeks.
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Diplomats participating in the dialogues told The Hindu that the impact of President Trump’s Gaza plans will play out in the region over a span of the next six months and the latest round of talks being held in Riyadh is an attempt to stop sudden escalation from breaking out.
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President Donald Trump’s plans for resolving the Israel-Palestine crisis by ethnic cleansing or “relocating” Palestinian population of Gaza to other Arab states is expected to face strong opposition as Saudi Arabia prepares to host a mini Arab summit in Riyadh this weekend.
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