DUBAI, February 14. /TASS/. Saudi Arabia will convene a summit of five Arab countries to work out a joint response to US President Donald Trump's plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza, a Saudi diplomat told TASS.
The summit is meant to bring together leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan. The exact date of the meeting has not yet been set, but it will precede an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo on February 27, which will also be dedicated to the Palestinian issue.
"The date of the meeting is being discussed. Tentatively, it will be held on February 20," the source said.
On February 4, Trump said at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was considering long-term ownership of the Gaza Strip. He also signaled a willingness to send US troops to Gaza and called for relocating Palestinians from the enclave. The US president said Saudi Arabia does not demand the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Afterward, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel until the implementation of the decision to establish an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.