JERUSALEM (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is beginning a Middle Eastern tour in Israel on Sunday, as Arab nations respond to President Donald Trump’s suggestion to relocate the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip to different countries and reconstruct it under U.S. control.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
During Rubio’s initial visit to the region as America’s chief diplomat, he is expected to receive a warm reception from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has lauded the proposal, while facing resistance from Arab leaders, who have roundly rejected it and are hurriedly devising a counterproposal.
The tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains in place even after a significant dispute last week threatened its stability. However, both sides are confronted with a rapidly approaching deadline in early March to negotiate the next phase, with the risk of renewed conflict if they fail to reach an agreement.
Netanyahu has expressed willingness to restart the conflict once the current phase concludes, even if that would leave many hostages in captivity. At the same time, he has extended an offer to Hamas for surrender and the exile of its top officials. Hamas, however, has dismissed this proposition.
On Sunday, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced it received a delivery of 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) MK-84 munitions from the United States. The Biden administration had halted a shipment of such arms last year due to concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza.
‘If someone has a better plan… that’s great’
In a radio interview last week, Rubio indicated that Trump’s proposal was partially designed to encourage Arab states to formulate their own postwar plan, one that would be satisfactory to Israel, which insists that Hamas can have no involvement in Gaza.
He also seemed to imply that Arab nations should deploy troops to confront Hamas, which survived Israel’s extensive 15-month assault and remains firmly in control of the area.
“If someone has a better plan, and we hope they do, if the Arab countries have a better plan, then that’s great,” Rubio said Thursday during the “Clay and Buck Show.”
However, “Hamas has guns,” he added. “It’s necessary for someone to confront those individuals. It’s not going to be American soldiers. If the nations in the region can’t resolve that issue, then Israel will have to do it, leading us back to the same situation we’ve always encountered.”
It remains unclear if Rubio will engage in discussions with any Palestinians.
Arabs have limited options as Israel has rejected past plans
For Arab leaders, facilitating the large-scale expulsion of Palestinians or fighting Palestinian militants on behalf of Israel are both dreaded scenarios. Either situation would provoke significant domestic backlash and could destabilize an already tense region.
Egypt has announced it will convene an Arab summit on Feb. 27 and is collaborating with other nations on a counterproposal that allows for the reconstruction of Gaza without displacing its residents, a move that human rights groups warn could potentially contravene international law.
Egypt has cautioned that any large influx of Palestinians from Gaza could undermine its nearly half-century-old peace agreement with Israel, a fundamental aspect of American influence in the area.
Arab and Muslim countries have thus far conditioned any backing for postwar Gaza on a return to Palestinian governance with a clear pathway to statehood encompassing Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
The Biden administration spent several months trying to rally regional leaders behind such initiatives, but they fell flat as Israel rejected not only a Palestinian state but also any involvement in Gaza from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which lost control of the territory when Hamas took power in 2007.
Last year, Egypt proposed that a committee of independent experts, under the guidance of the Palestinian Authority, manage the governance and reconstruction of Gaza. While Hamas accepted the idea, its secular rival, Fatah, which dominates the authority, declined to support the plan, resulting in its stagnation.
Rubio to visit regional heavyweights
Rubio is set to meet with Netanyahu on Sunday before proceeding to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, regional leaders that have opposed any mass eviction of Palestinians and would be crucial to any regional solution.
The United Arab Emirates played a pivotal role in the 2020 Abraham Accords, during which four Arab nations normalized ties with Israel under Trump’s tenure. Trump aims to expand these accords to include Saudi Arabia, possibly offering enhanced U.S. defense cooperation, although the kingdom has stated it will not establish relations with Israel without a pathway to a Palestinian state.
Rubio will not be visiting Egypt or Jordan, close U.S. allies at peace with Israel, which have declined to accept any influx of Palestinian refugees. Trump has previously threatened to cut off U.S. aid to these two nations, which could severely harm their economies, if they do not comply.
He is also skipping Qatar, which, along with Egypt, has been a vital mediator with Hamas in securing the ceasefire.
Trump has taken credit for the ceasefire, achieved in the last days of the Biden administration after his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, participated in the negotiations. However, more recently, Trump has indicated that Israel should renew the conflict if the remaining hostages taken in Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, which instigated the fighting, are not released sooner than anticipated.
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