When secretary of state Marco Rubio makes his first official trip to the Middle East as the top US diplomat on Sunday, he’ll be pushing the region to come up with an alternative to President Donald Trump’s controversial plan for the Gaza Strip.
While attending the Munich Security Conference this weekend and on stops in Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in the coming days, Rubio will stress that nations in the region should present a new proposal if they have concerns about the US taking over Gaza and displacing its residents, a state department spokesperson said, declining to be named to outline the US approach.
“Hopefully they’re going to have a really good plan to present to the President, but right now the only plan – they don’t like it – but the only plan is the Trump plan, so if they’ve got a better plan, you know, now is the time to present it,” Rubio said in a radio interview on Thursday, adding that partner countries must do more than just pay for reconstruction but confront Hamas on the ground, as well.